Talk us through an average day in your role
One of the most interesting aspects of my job is that there is no average day. Much of my work involves dealing with matters at opposite ends of a timeline. At one extreme are issues that are highly urgent and require significant focus to analyse, assess, and respond. At the other end are the longer-term strategic initiatives that require seeking input from many internal and external stakeholders, scenario planning and modelling, consensus building, and ultimately complex planning and execution.
Across both of those areas, my role is largely communication, leadership, and coaching. Communication occurs at multiple levels with customers, partners, industry groups, and of course our in-house leaders and subject matter experts. I’ve always embraced the idea that managers — and especially senior managers — need to treat communications as a two-way street. Even though I’ve been in the TV industry for over 35 years, there is still a lot for me to learn. That’s never been truer than it is today, as both technology and business models seem to be constantly accelerating.
Leadership is another role that has both internal and external aspects. Of course, as CEO of Imagine, part of my job is to lead all aspects of our business and operations. Setting objectives, establishing KPIs, fostering team interactions, providing feedback, and steering both what we are doing and how we are doing it—those are critical activities that I’m engaged in day by day.
When it comes to external leadership, sometimes that’s very visible, like my ongoing role at AIMS or on the NABA Technical Committee. But it also means playing a part in discussions and execution on initiatives with customers and partners, using my experience and global view of the market to help them take small steps every day towards a future that is sustainable for all participants. I’m a big believer that leadership means working towards win-win scenarios; my experience tells me that this is where you get the best engagement and genuine commitment to make long-term projects successful.
Coaching is probably the part of the job that I was most surprised by. The general perception of CEOs seems to be that they can make anything happen just by mandating it. I can tell you that this is far from true. The secret to long-term success actually depends on building organisations that reflect their purpose and then establishing operating principle and practices that ensure that purpose is being met. To do that, leadership needs to make sure that everyone in the organisation understands the goals and how their team’s role and their own job contribute to success. This is best done by coaching — leading people towards understanding, helping them learn not only how to get something done, but also why it’s important and measuring the outcome.
How did you get started in the media industry?
My entry to the media industry was as a software developer on the first-gen digital cable systems in the early 1990s. I was hired into the firmware development team at TCI, working on set-top box software and systems. Getting that job was a bit of serendipity, through a friend of a friend who knew that I had experience programming Motorola 68K processors (which I picked up when I was working for Bio-Rad building chemical analysis and spectroscopy equipment).
I had always been interested in large-scale telecom systems, going back to research and simulators that I developed working on my master’s degree in computer engineering at Widener University in Pennsylvania. So when I had a chance to move from set-top engineering to system-level engineering for Interactive TV and VoD in the late ’90s, I jumped at the chance.
That led me towards more work in system architecture and standards development, as well as the opportunity to develop IP for more than 40 patents. I’ve been incredibly lucky to be involved in so many of the early developments around digital TV, streaming, and advanced advertising, where I’ve been able to play a part in developing the technology that the modern industry is built around.
What training did you have before entering the industry?
I have a B.S. in computer science and an M.S. in computer engineering. Even though the technologies around computer science have evolved dramatically since my days as a student, I find that a lot of the fundamentals still apply when we are designing and building mission-critical, low-latency, high-quality software and systems.
Why do you enjoy working in the industry?
The media industry is a fascinating combination of technology and creativity. Fundamentally, our industry exists because people love to watch and listen to stories. What we get to do every day is provide tools and technology that let those stories be told—whether news, drama, comedy, sports, or any other genre—and delivered to an engaged audience.
Being a part of blending creativity and technology to let those stories be told is a big part of what keeps me excited about the industry. Hand in hand with that is the joy we all get from the other people in this industry. An industry built on entertainment has introduced me to some amazing personalities — many of whom share the same passion and excitement about what we do.
What piece of advice would you offer someone looking to explore a role similar to yours?
Think of the reasons you should say “yes” to any new opportunity or assignment. What can you learn? Who can you meet? Where can you go? Being willing to take risks and accept challenges beyond your comfort zone will dramatically expand your experience and broaden your understanding about how the industry works. I mean that from the standpoint of technology, business, social dynamics, content creation—everything really.
Managing a business requires this breadth of knowledge and experience. It helps to understand the mechanics of “what,” as well as “how” the ecosystem and the enterprise operate, but you also need to understand the “why.” And the broader exposure to people across the industry and their diverse backgrounds and viewpoints is essential to being able to translate goals, objectives, and outcomes into action. As a leader, there is no substitute for that set of skills.
