Manuela Mihailescu (at right), VP Media of Point Blank, Inc., at the Harvard Club in Manhattan, attending the December 2006 Christmas party of the Croatian National Tourist Office, one of her company's clients.


Passionate about theater and film, Manuela graduated in 1974 as Valedictorian with a Master of Arts degree from the Theater & Film Institute in Bucharest, Romania.

She escaped from the Communist country in 1980, leaving behind a career which could have made her the most important film and theater critic of her generation. She was granted political asylum by the US Government.

Challenged to cross the bridge from arts to business, Manuela earned an MBA in Marketing/Advertising from Baruch College (CUNY). She is a member of the Betta Gamma Sigma honorary Business Society, and listed in "Who's Who in the North East."

Winning the First Prize Award in the Philip Morris Marketing / Communications competition confirmed Manuela's excellent analytical skills, her ability to identify problems and find the best marketing solutions.

After joining Point Blank in 1988, Manuela's expertise became print media planning and buying. Praised by clients for making the most of their budgets, she has established during the years wonderful working relationships with major consumer and trade publications.

Always fighting to get the best deals for her clients, Manuela built a reputation as a reliable media person.

Manuela and Jon, her husband for almost 30 years, moved to Rochester in November of 2001 when they purchased the historic Gazlay Brick House on Route 209 in Kerhonkson. Manuela quickly became involved with their new community. The couple joined the Chamber of Commerce, the Accord-Kerhonkson Business Alliance, Rochester Republican Club, Friends of Historic Rochester, Antiques Dealers Association of Ulster County and The Society for the Preservation of Hudson Valley Vernacular Architecture.

Manuela has regularly attended many of the various meetings of associations, boards, and commissions in our town. Historic preservation is one area of great importance to Manuela. The Gazlay Brick House in which she lives is a unique source of pride. Manuela and Jon also just received the largest historic preservation grant in the history of the town for the restoration of their 1800 DeWitt Dutch Barn.

Manuela has been regularly attending meetings of the Historic Preservation Commission, not as a member but as a person with a keen interest in this area. At the suggestion of the Town Historian and the Chairperson of the Historic Preservation Commission, in November 2006 she submitted her application for the HPC when the Town Board called for volunteers.