Entertainment Execs Are In Strong Demand
By Perri Capell© Wall Street Journal. Career Journal. October 2001
While entertainment company executives are used to making persuasive pitches, their biggest challenge these days is pitching jobs to top candidates who can lead their new-media divisions and ventures.Entertainment-industry firms are pushing the boundaries of technology in their rush to deliver products, such as film and video, through broadband and other new channels. And they need a steady stream of talent to help them reach their goals.
"Voice, data and video are coming together," says Charles (Chip) McCreary, president of Austin-McGregor International, a Dallas-based recruiting firm. "The convergence is real, and just as you can turn on your TV set now, you'll be able to get the same thing over the Internet in two years."
To achieve this goal, the industry seeks executives with consumer products, Internet, technology and other backgrounds for a wide range of jobs. If the new organizations are fairly evenly financed, those with the best management will survive, say recruiters.
"If there are 30 streaming media companies now, there will be three a few years from now," says Mr. McCreary. "What's platinum-gold is your management team."
Hiring demand is split 60-40 between traditional entertainment companies and new-media ventures, says Brad Marks, chairman and chief executive officer of Brad Marks International Inc., a Los Angeles-based search firm. About three years ago, about 75% of his searches were for traditional firms.
Traditional entertainment firms include companies in areas such as broadcast, cable, motion picture, home video, digital effects, music and recording, theme parks and other leisure-time activities. New-media companies might include online information and entertainment content sites and sophisticated communications technology delivery firms. And for each type of content, such as music, film or sports, there are hundreds of sub-categories.
As established entertainment companies merge and start new-media ventures, the lines are increasingly blurring between new and old, says Gary Kaplan, president of Gary Kaplan & Associates, a Pasadena, Calif., search firm. "I'm doing a search now for a vice president of marketing for an e-commerce venture of a major publishing company that's somewhat entertainment oriented, so this gets fuzzier all the time," Mr. Kaplan says. "Meanwhile, a lot of people are leaving entertainment companies and migrating to dot-coms. Others are boomeranging back from dot-coms."
Executive Demand Strong Across the Board
Among entertainment firms, demand is strong for top executives in a variety of areas. In the management arena, companies seek presidents and CEOs and chief marketing, finance, business development, technology and information executives. Although each company's requirements are different, same-industry experience isn't necessary for all of these positions. Instead, companies might seek a CEO or marketing executive with a strong consumer product background, says Mr. McCreary.
"These people are tough to find, because there are a finite number of companies to search from," he says, "but entertainment appeals to consumers, so you must be a proven manager or chief operating officer who understands the minds and hearts of consumers. You could come from the toy [industry] or some other consumer packaged-goods company."
Mr. Marks is seeking to fill several positions for CEOs, presidents or other top managers. One major electronics and entertainment firm is seeking a head for a new digital cinema initiative to lead a push to change how films are delivered to theaters from film to satellite delivery. The position requires a technology background and strong deal-making skills. "We're seeking a blend between Henry Kissinger and Albert Einstein," says Mr. Marks. He declined to provide information about the compensation range for the job.
A company backed by a European conglomerate is seeking two top executives for a new venture related to the digital and wireless distribution of major sporting events worldwide. And an international digital cable distribution company doing niche programming seeks a chief operating officer, says Mr. Marks. CEOs can earn cash pay of between $200,000 and $2 million, depending on the company and amount of equity the job includes.
Other abundant jobs in the entertainment industry, especially at new-media and Internet companies, include chief marketing officers and heads of business development. The latter "are people who can cut deals with complimentary partners for the site," says Mr. McCreary. Such positions usually include $150,000 to $225,000 annual base salaries, he says.
Howard Lipson, president of Lipson & Co., a Los Angeles search firm, says that while his firm's current assignments include CEO and programming development jobs, slightly more openings are for sales and marketing executives. Two television companies that market programming worldwide, including a firm specializing in the children's market, recently filled openings for vice presidents of sales and marketing, says Mr. Lipson. Annual cash pay for such jobs can range from $300,000 to $600,000.
Top Techies Are Hard to Find
The most difficult job to fill at many entertainment dot-coms is CTO because candidates with backgrounds in streaming media and high bandwidth companies are rare, says Mr. McCreary. Such jobs usually include $175,000 to $300,000 base salaries.
Broadcast and other media companies seek executives for industry-specific jobs, such as vice presidents of traffic or on-air promotions. Such managers need experience at other network or broadcast companies. For instance, Mr. Kaplan seeks a director of on-air promotion to work in southern California for a major network. The executive should have a background in broadcast promotion and have strong writing and TV advertising skills, and would earn an annual base salary of up to $200,000.
Entertainment firms also seek top staff executives in such functions as human resources. Such executives usually don't need industry experience. When oil company Unocal Corp. restructured his corporate human resources job, David Demont wanted to work for a company in a global industry that was growing significantly and produced products that would provide him with a sense of personal identity and excitement. In June 2000, the 56-year-old executive started his new position as vice president of human resources at Technicolor, a southern California subsidiary of London-based Carlton Communications PLC that colorizes films and produces DVDs, CDs, videos and other packaged media products worldwide.
With a background at General Electric Co. and Chase Manhattan Bank, Mr. Demont didn't consider himself tied to a particular industry. Meanwhile, Technicolor was seeking human resource expertise to help upgrade the function and felt the right candidate could learn the entertainment business. "It's a terrific move," says Mr. Demont about his new job. "I'm excited about the products we represent and the worldwide markets for them." The company employs 8,000 full- and part-time workers and is in a "growth mode" as more new products are being introduced, he says.
Sales and Marketing Savvy Wanted
Executives who are considering jobs at entertainment-related companies should have a sales and marketing orientation and want to work in a fast-paced environment, says Mr. Demont. "This is a business that is technology driven and extremely fast paced," he says. "It's probably best for those who can identify this kind of environment and related organizational structures."
Recruiters expect demand for executives to work at entertainment companies to remain strong. With the devaluation in stock prices for Internet startups in the spring, the recruiting playing field between traditional firms and Web organizations is more evenly matched, they say.
"Candidates are more cautious now," says Mr. McCreary. "They aren't running from such opportunities, but [dot-com] firms have to be well-financed and have models that can generate revenues and profits quickly. The days of waiting forever to make money are over."
Given the volatile nature of the entertainment industry, top executives, usually vice presidents and above, as well as some directors, can expect to sign three-year contracts with their employers, says Mr. Kaplan.
