A Filcro Media Staffing Media Technology Executive Search

Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Global Broadcasting, Motion Picture, Cable & Interactive Networks

 

Mobile | Cable TV & MSO | Broadcast TV | Digital Radio

Online and OTT | Multicast & OEM | DOOH | Satellite

 

 

 

 

 

Location New York, NY - USA

Search Firm  Filcro Media Staffing

Officer in Charge  Tony Filson Reporting to Board of Directors, CEO, CTO & SVP HR

Client  Diversified U.S. Global Media & Entertainment Conglomerate

Client Situation  Succession Plan & Upgrade of Global IT Across all Media Platforms

 

Executive Search Committee Industry and Business Sector Inclusion

 

• Television Networks - Cable & Broadcast - International, National, Regional & Local

• Radio Broadcasting Networks - International, National, Regional & Local

• Wireless / Mobile Content Producers - International, National, Regional & Local

• Online Interactive - International, National, Regional & Local

• Network & Syndicated Programming Producers - TV, Radio, Interactive, Mobile, Film

• Motion Picture Studios - Domestic & International

 

The executive search committee (ESC) of the client company was comprised of the President, CEO, current CTO and SVP of Human Resources acting as the liaison for the (ESC).  The (ESC) identified Filcro Media Staffing (FMS) and Tony Filson (TF) functioning as Officer in Charge of Search (OIC) to conduct a national search to identify and review the proper technology executive(s) capable of facilitating the current CTO’s succession plan and the board of director's desire to enhance the global technological resources of their media holdings across all media platforms.

 

The CTO had a clear vision of where the diverse media holdings needed to be technologically in international, national, regional and local markets.  He was exceptionally articulate and verbose in what was sought strategically and tactically to assure that his successor could manage the media conglomerate's technology interests, well into the future.

 

The diversity of the company's global media portfolio would require Filcro Media Staffing to recruit a CTO with broad media acumen and sophistication well above the industry mean.   Setting standards for advanced technology development for CMS, SCALE, multicast, multiplex, multichannel broadcast technologies required a technology leader.  For terrestrial distribution, MSO, OTA & Satellite relationships and FCC mandates this new CTO would require exceptional hard and soft skills to evangelize technology internal and external to the organization. 

 

The new CTO would review and manage many global IT and broadcast vendor relationships across three continents; this would require a fiscally mature media IT executive with extensive build-out, operations and maintenance experience in diverse global markets where legislative issues can also be a factor.
 

With a large multinational and multi-language IT engineering staff reporting into this technology executive, a noted and adept mentor with the ability to manage soft and hard assets remotely, across continents, would be essential.  Media technology issues associated with international government regulations, business affairs and monetization were complex and we required an executive who could utilize the firm’s extensive legislative and business affairs resources effectively to manage these areas with autonomy.

 

Challenges Facing the New CTO

 

• Global Dissemination Across Multiple Media Platforms

• Enterprise Web-Scale Initiative

• Optimizing and Upgrading Resources for TV, OD, Radio, Interactive and Mobile Normalization

• Change Management

• Vendor Management in International & Domestic Markets

• Optimizing Sales Technology to Enhance Revenue Across All Platforms

• Centralize Control of International Technology Assets

• International Government and Domestic FCC Compliance

• Management of a Diverse Multinational Staff

• Attracting and Mentoring Staff to Facilitate Technology Initiatives

• Implementing IT Best Practices Internal & External to the Organization for Assimilation, Dissemination & Production

• Integration of media platforms for monetization of multicast products and services

 

The Filcro Media Staffing Recruitment Solution

Based on Filcro Media Staffing’s recruitment experience with prior advanced media technology searches and an awareness of other global media organization's technology infrastructures; compiling, verifying and vetting the entire initial search universe and including the ESC in the process took less than three weeks to complete.  

 

With a finite number (38) of appropriate media technology executives capable of moving the organization globally to the next generation of technology across all the targeted media platforms, it was apparent who was qualified from a tactical perspective well before the initial round of interviews in New York, Atlanta, and California.  Understanding each executive's capacity strategically and the ecology of their own careers related to the technology ecology of the media conglomerate became a determining factor. 

 

The FMS OIC (Tony Filson) as a former MSO Engineer engaged each perspective CTO in a number of engaging conversations relevant to global distribution, CODEC development, CMS / SCALE concerns, global LAN/WAN/SAN collaborative workflow, OEM embedding, sales concerns for traffic / inventory systems, affiliate distribution and IT vendor relationships that helped understand each executive's capacity internal and external to the organization.   

 

The OIC’s objective was to shorten the acclimation period and attract the proper media technology executive who would fit well within the organization's unique technology culture and three multinational sub-cultures, (business, technology and creative), with little need for assimilation outside of structure and technology. 

 

Every ideal media technology executive identified was currently under contract, happy and well vested within their respective media conglomerates.  The current CTO’s succession plan "cadence" was essential to adhere to and those not sincere had to be culled with confidence.

 

While recruiting “ideals” who are talented and well sought after Media IT executives; career, financial progression, and stability were sought by all targeted.   The new CTO had to maintain operational continuity and facilitate advanced technology adaptation in the client’s global IT / BO&E organization while making management changes that would facilitate these initiatives in diverse global markets.

 

The current Chief Technology Officer CTO required extensive assurances that this incoming executive would assume the initial transitional role prescribed before taking over the CTO position at the cadence prescribed. He wanted a smooth transition and a fair amount of time to get the new CTO acquainted with committees to be Chaired and industry events where he would be a keynote speaker representing the company.  Maturity and sound judgment during the brief transition allotted would afford the organization, their vendors, and affiliates reasonable adaptation during the new CTO’s ascension.  An extensive round of interviews in New York with the CTO, CEO and other senior level executive of the hiring company provided a unanimous consensus that the proper media IT executive to assume the CTO’s position had been identified and that he was indeed uniquely qualified and the single most qualified candidate for the position, currently located in The Americas.

 

Successful CTO Recruited

The executive recruited and attracted by Filcro Media Staffing - Tony Filson (OIC) for the organization was currently managing (7) seven major TV broadcast and cable entities for one of the largest U.S. based multinational media and entertainment conglomerates in the world.  In the CTO's previous role he managed across every media platform relevant to the organization's diverse global media infrastructure to include: Multicast of Cable TV, Broadcast TV, Radio, Interactive, On-Demand, DOOH, Mobile, OEM and Wireless assets, SCALES, CMS and global collaborative cloud-based LAN/WAN/SAN for production and post. 

The executive was currently managing over 70 senior technology employees across The Americas, Europe, and Asia with total technology and financial controls within these geographies, for global dissemination.  His total reports on a dotted line and vendor management exceeded that of any other candidate by two fold.  Yet, he was hands-on and had a history of attracting key technology personnel that grew and expressed longevity.  With a proven history of efficacy in managing and introducing new media technology from a hard asset and human resource perspective, he was respected below, on and above line by everyone who came in contact with him personally and professionally.  This level of respect by his peers and those who reported into him would also be an asset in attracting and retaining highly valuable media technologists for the client company in the future.

 

One of the most challenging aspects of this media technology executive search was negotiating the timing of the executive's release from his current contract due to a substantial media industry merger.  At all times, this media IT executive exhibited traits inherent to someone with maturity, a fine character, intelligence, and honor. 

 

It was a pleasure working on this search with the current CTO and attracting such a fine senior media IT executive to carry forward the firm's reputation as a leader in global media technology and broadcasting entertainment.

 

The incumbent CTO left the firm as designed in his succession plan.  The new CTO apparent reported into the new CEO when he came on board and the global IT organization enjoyed  the continuity and growth sought by engaging Filcro Media Staffing.

 

Bookmark: http://www.media-recruiters.com/cto-media-conglomerate

 

Filcro Media Staffing

Media & Broadcasting Executive Search
Serving Global Media Interests Since 1985

 

 

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