Having provided a “clarion call” for the media industry at IBC2025, Evan Shapiro returns to IBC this year to discuss structural shifts reshaping the workforce.
He is the keynote speaker at this year’s World Skills Cafe on Thursday 10th September from 2-5pm.
This will be Shapiro’s seventh trip to Amsterdam for IBC, which he describes as “a perfect place at the perfect time”.
“For me, IBC is about change and renewal. A few years ago, in my keynote, I announced that I had cancer, and declared that the media industry did too,” he tells TVBEurope. “Since then, I’ve recovered. Media, not so much. But I try to use my time at IBC each year to help cure what ails our industry too.”
Shapiro says he was honoured to be asked to take part in the World Skills Cafe event, adding “education has long been a big part of my life”.
“One of the great failings of the media industry over the last decade is how insular and siloed it has become, and how little its have invested in the next generation of leadership,” he states. “The average hours of talent development in corporate media has fallen 66 per cent in the last four years. I am hoping I can ring that alarm bell and help people retrain themselves for what comes next.”
Shapiro adds that the industry needs to move away from the typical Oxbridge or Ivy League education, describing it as “meaningless”.
“I’d rather hire someone with three years of direct creator economy experience over an overpaid MBA. We need to make room in the ‘rooms where it happens’ for people who grew up too poor to afford a Netflix subscription. Economic and educational diversity is the best answer for the problems our industry faces.”
Despite the issues around the skills gap, Shapiro says he is “very optimistic” about the industry, and believes IBC can help drive necessary change. “The show includes people who come from outside the club, and gives them the stage to share what they know.”
Finally, asked for his top tip for anyone attending IBC for the first time, he suggests it’s important to be honest about what’s happening in the industry. “Don’t speak in talking points. We can make progress. But first we have to be honest with ourselves. Drop the fear of finding out. We are all in this together.”
More details about the World Skills Cafe are available here.
