team
Cinnabar-Group-old Cinnabar-Group-Sendak

Jonathan KatzChairman

Jonathan founded Cinnabar in 1982 in a small Hollywood back lot. As Cinnabar gained a reputation for getting the job done and solving problems in a creative, collaborative way, it rapidly became one of the entertainment industry’s leading fabrication and special EFX companies.

Beginning as a welder/mechanic building floats for the Pasadena Rose Parade, Jonathan’s background includes a political career in the 1970s, working for then-California Governor Jerry Brown to help implement key Brown initiatives such as the Office of Appropriate Technology and the California Conservation Corps. Jonathan’s lifelong dedication to conservation has driven him to adopt sustainability concerns into his company’s work product, implement technical innovations in sustainable specimen display, and work to support resource-conserving behaviors from the shop floor to all phases of a project.

In recent years, Jonathan has focused Cinnabar’s bold approach to content delivery to producing, designing and fabricating museum exhibitions that engage, entertain and educate modern audiences.

Jonathan is a frequent speaker on panels addressing sustainability issues, audience engagement and storytelling in museums. He is a board member of the Western Museums Association (WMA) and the Ojai Valley Museum. Jonathan was one of the first people in Southern California to drive GM’s electric EV-1 car. He is an avid gardener.

Basil KatzCEO

As Cinnabar’s most senior client-facing representative, Basil brings his experience working in high-pressure, high-performance environments to managing Cinnabar’s ongoing client relationships. He is adept at working with large groups of stakeholders and project participants to arrive at consensus-based decisions that maximize a project’s success.

Basil joined Cinnabar four years ago after spending six years as a professional journalist first at The New York Times in Paris, then with the Reuters News agency in New York.

Basil’s journalism experience has ingrained in him the ability to distill large amounts of information into clear, simple and direct ideas, allowing him to make decisions based on a project’s core merits. His experience has also taught him that good and regular communication, both internal and external, is key to keeping a project on the right track.