How did you initially get involved in the industry and was it a long held ambition or did you end up where you are in a more indirect fashion?
I was trained technically by leading technology firms in both the Far East (Mitsubishi Electric, Kyoto, Japan) and the West (GEC - Marconi Research, Chelmsford, UK). At Marconi I found myself involved in a range of digital transmission projects, and at Mitsubishi, despite the massive interest in displays (especially HD CRTs for Muse), I was asked to work on digital recorders using Motion JPEG compression.
Ultimately, though, I realised that neither "blue sky" work at Marconi or consumer product development at Mitsubishi were broad enough to keep me excited. I wanted to be involved in transforming the industry and it was really Mitsubishi who opened me up to the future of digital television. I found the new digital TV world fascinating and knew this was an area I wanted to be involved with. I read an article in a Japanese trade journal about the recently privatised Independent Broadcasting Authority in the UK - renamed NTL. They had just set up a group called the Advanced Products Division and had succeeded in building the first MPEG-1 real time encoder. They were also looking to expand their engineering team.
After approaching NTL directly from Japan, I succeeded in landing a job in the RF group back in the UK. My role was to help design and launch the world's first COFDM equipment, now standardised as DVB-T. This was a fantastic period of time as there was both a real race between competing R&D groups as well as great camaraderie in putting together a working spec within the DVB organisation. Plugging the system into the transmitter and then demonstrating reception to dignitaries in Westminster was one of the highlights of that period. This resulted in the UK leading Europe in legislating for digital terrestrial TV.
Of course, driving the engineering change through standards and so on is only one phase, and I was keen to move into more customer-related fields once DTV was established. One coincidence that helped me here was a surprise tie up between my employer and Mitsubishi. A visit from Mitsubishi, who were hunting for digital STB designs, resulted in their management asking how I was getting on. Of course, our MD didn't know me from Adam, but I was swiftly bought in on the project, which for sure gave me a good leg up. This allowed me to work with some different people in the company and it was this interaction which ultimately led to me being persuaded to join the "dark side" of sales & marketing.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to follow in your footsteps?
Don't rely on luck, but when luck brings new opportunities, take advantage of it. Also, make an impression. The more you hold back, the less you get. A great example of this is how I ended up back in Asia with Tandberg Television. During a dinner after a strategy meeting in Oslo, I mentioned to the CEO's PA that I had previously lived in Japan and remained interested in the Far East. I didn’t realise this conversation had travelled until two weeks later my boss called me up saying the CEO wanted me to move to Hong Kong to see if I could help grow the business there - within a year I was promoted to GM.
So try and see the bigger picture. Having a technical or systems background can also be turned to good advantage in the business world - a feeling for numbers and processes is equally applicable in commerce as in engineering. I see a lot of bright technical people discouraged from moving into sales, marketing or other commercial areas but making this transition can be exciting and very challenging.
What would you like to see happen in the industry that you think would enable you work more effectively?
Our industry is relatively niche and this certainly becomes clear when it comes to recruitment and expanding the business organically. Whilst we're much smaller than Telecoms, the technology we use is of equal standing and it would be great to see the industry get behind some academic and industry training programs to ensure we all have access to a much greater pool of trained people. The industry is pretty good at selling itself to its own – but we need to raise our profile outside of the broadcast industry, especially as the worlds of broadcast and broadband collide.
If you had the opportunity to do any other job, what would it be and why?
I guess I could dream about being on TV instead of behind it, ensuring the technology is there to make it happen. But to be honest I like what I do too much to worry about any alternative.
What do you find most enjoyable about working in this industry?
It's difficult to find equivalent jobs with such a great mix of business and technology, together with that extra sexiness and spiciness that comes from dealing with the Content and Media Industry. A lot of friends with similar backgrounds/training ended up in automobile, defence or voice/telecoms electronics. Whilst many of these areas are becoming more high profile, the "picture speaks a thousand words" phrase also translates to some extent into job satisfaction and kudos: it's just more fun!
Also, the people are great – the spirit of fun and getting the job done runs throughout the industry. I am lucky to have an excellent team of sales, engineering and administrative professionals working with me in Hong Kong and across the region – they truly are great colleagues and excellent friends.
What do you like to do outside of work in your leisure time?
A lot of people don't realise it, but Hong Kong is not just an incredibly vibrant city, but is also home to some pretty amazing countryside. I enjoy walking the hills of Hong Kong and just recently spent a week with my family in Yunnan (South West China) trekking through Tiger Leaping Gorge, the deepest, longest and narrowest gorge in the world - an incredible experience. Next trekking trip will be North Vietnam. Of course, relaxing on the beaches of SE Asia is always a good way to recuperate and we have spent some incredible times in Australia – I just can’t get enough of the place!
What in your view are the most important developments happening in broadcasting at present and how do you think they will affect both Tandberg Television and the industry in general?
There are several transitions going on right now which are affecting all of our customers directly or indirectly which will transform the whole industry. There's the shift to HD, changing viewer habits to on-demand and new networks such as IPTV or mobile. However, like digitisation, these changes are all transitionary - just steps toward a more exciting and all-encompassing future. As we are starting to see now, the real benefit from digitisation will be about smart applications that build completely new experiences for consumers. These applications will bring a hitherto unknown level of personalisation, interaction and mobility, allowing smooth transition of compelling content experiences across different networks and on different devices. Of course to get to this point, there will need to be dramatic change in our industry.
Looking ahead, how you do see the industry in five years from now?
I believe digitisation would have progressed by leaps and bounds and the focus will be very much on what else can be done with TV to drive new revenue streams. Consumers will have more choice, mobility, interactivity and control on new and traditional TV screens and new forms of content will thrive, including the long-tail, amateur user-generated media and professionally-produced short and full-length video.
If you could eradicate one problem that exists in the industry at present, what would it be and why?
Fear! Traditional television players fear the evolution of television. They're concerned that the TV 2.0 guys are walking away with their money. Everyone is exploring new ways to capture and monetise eyeballs. The challenge is to bridge broadcast and broadband and to build multi-layered business models that blend the traditional way of doing business and TV 2.0.
