The constant throughout these seasoned execs’ careers? An approach that’s client-focused and guided by the maxim that doing right by others will always pay off. Olsen and his team created inventive campaigns for clients like GSK—which centered around a short commercial with Lifetime to raise awareness about meningitis B. Zagin makes balancing distributors’ needs with customer experience look easy, with his team launching enhanced VOD for its MVPD partners this year. MacDonald, meanwhile, closed licensing agreements and prioritized deals for international versions of popular A+E content like the survival series “Alone.”
Was Charter’s Disney deal precedent setting? It’s still too early to determine if the deal was precedent setting. We’ll have to see the outcome of distributor negotiations with programmers that also operate ad-supported streaming services. Likely they will follow the same model, but time will tell.
TV series everyone should binge: “Succession”
Favorite way to destress? This is an easy one. Take my dog for a long walk just to get away from the normal stress of the business day.