Jim Lavorato – Complete Biography

James Lavorato

Jim Lavorato is a serial entrepreneur and business leader.

Currently managing 4M Performance, which he launched in 2021 as an adjacent entity to Fund House Ventures, LLC, an angel investment firm, which he founded in 2018.

His entrepreneur spirit started when he founded Entertainment Equipment Corporation, a company that sells, installs, and services projection, sound, and related equipment to movie theaters, educational institutions, and corporations. He currently still manages EEC.

Throughout his career in the entertainment industry, he has been at the forefront of cinema technology. Collaborating, for example, with the major movie studios in spearheading the movie industry’s transition to digital presentations and distribution with the development of digital cinema and was instrumental in the success of the first commercial release of a digitally presented feature film, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, in 2002.

He is also the founder of Cinema Training Central, the first and only training school devoted to the cinema exhibition industry. He is also co-founder of the Aboreel Group, an environmental consultancy which transforms existing movie theaters into environmentally sustainable structures through the implementation of a compliance and certification process. Arboreel was conceived and developed based upon the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Rating System.

Over his career, he gained extensive domestic and international experience – living and working in Boston, Buffalo, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and Toronto and holding assignments in Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Singapore, Tokyo, Zurich and throughout Central America.

Prior to launching EEC, he had a successful career at the Mellon Bank (now Bank of New York Mellon) where he attained the position of Senior Vice President. He also functioned as the Chief Financial Officer of BNY Mellon International, being responsible for all financial activities at the Bank’s Wall Street operations.

Previous to Mellon, he worked as a Corporate Analyst for the Itek Corporation which developed and manufactured high-tech optical systems and products for the U.S. military and NASA. Prior to Itek, he worked as a Financial Analyst for the United Brands Company, in their Chiquita Food Division.

Mr. Lavorato has published numerous articles on the motion picture and media industries. His articles have appeared in ScreenTrade Magazine, Film Journal International, BoxOffice Magazine, and Theatre World. He also authors two blogs: Cinema Mucho Gusto, which provides news, information, and commentary on today’s cinema and 4MP Free, which offers insights and articles on business related topics with an emphasis on Web3.

He holds a Master’s in International Management, from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, a Master’s in Business Administration from Suffolk University, and a BA in Accounting from Suffolk.