Creating Content

An Interview with Philippe Dauman, President and Chief Executive Offi cer, Viacom Inc.

EDITORS’ NOTE Before joining Are you fi nding ways to mone- Unfortunately, there are a lot of young peo- Viacom, Philippe Dauman was Co- tize in the online and mobile sectors? ple who lack the skill sets to do that and some Chairman and Chief Executive Offi cer Yes, we have already completed who don’t fully realize that success requires hard of DND Capital Partners, L.L.C. several digital distribution deals, includ- work. We work with our talent and celebrities to from May 2000 until September ing with Netfl ix and Hulu, and there communicate the importance of fi nishing school 2006. Prior to co-founding DND are more on the horizon. We have vast and that success is borne from hard work – it’s Capital Partners, Dauman served libraries of content that isn’t on televi- all part of our Get Schooled effort. in several positions at Viacom, in- sion or in theaters and these distribu- Our public school system is not serv- cluding as a Deputy Chairman tors give us new digital avenues through ing us well and the U.S. needs to dramati- and Executive Vice President of which to monetize those assets. cally improve it. Advances in education Viacom Inc. He is a director of New forms of distribution are great are happening in other parts of the world. National Amusements, Inc.; Lafarge opportunities because our business is If we were to lose the education edge in S.A.; and the KIPP Foundation, as Philippe Dauman premised on windows. For example, a this country, innovation and prosperity will well as a member of the Academy movie starts out in theaters, then moves come from somewhere else. One of the rea- of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the to the DVD/home entertainment window, followed sons our country has been so innovative is Business Roundtable. He serves on the Executive by pay-per-view, and so forth, until you reach the the freedom we have to create companies Committee of the NCTA, the Board of Trustees for broadcast television window. The new digital plat- based on new ideas and products. Education The Paley Center for Media, the Board of Trustees forms are creating additional windows for us. is a critical leg of the stool that supports this of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health Our joint venture EPIX carved out a new process. System, the Executive Committee of the Lenox Hill segment of the pay TV window through an inno- Why haven’t we had an impact on K-12 Hospital, and the Board of Trustees and Dean’s vative deal with Netfl ix. That particular arrange- education? Council of Columbia University Law School. ment helped EPIX achieve profi tability within a We have made some progress. The charter year of launch – a fi rst for a cable network. school movement has helped. When you cre- COMPANY BRIEF Viacom (www.viacom.com) How critical is community engagement ate schools that not only work well but are is a leading global entertainment company de- to the culture of Viacom? also more effi cient, it serves as a good example livering content to its audiences via television, As a media company, I believe Viacom and a benchmark for the schools that aren’t per- motion pictures, and a wide range of digital me- has a special duty that goes beyond traditional forming well. As a media company, we’re going dia. With nearly 170 media networks, Viacom’s corporate responsibility. Our media networks to help bring that to light. brands include MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, BET, reach a lot of young people and we want to use There is movement afoot, but it takes time Centric, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nick at our platforms to not just entertain, but also to to change an entire system. Nite, Comedy Central, TV Land, Spike TV, and inform and to empower audiences. Are you satisfied with how close the Tr3s. Paramount Pictures, America’s oldest fi lm We have been a global leader in raising working relationship is among business studio, continues today as a global producer HIV/AIDS awareness. We also respond quickly leaders in New York and what is it about the and distributor of fi lmed entertainment. every time there is a natural disaster. And each city that brings those leaders together? year, we host ViaCommunity Day, when our New York City is a magnet for talented Your business is based on creativity and in- employees around the globe spend the day vol- people and it is home to many diverse busi- novation. Is it challenging to maintain an unteering with local community organizations, in- nesses. People want to work here and business innovative culture? cluding many in New York City. leaders want to preserve what makes New York We have great creative people at Viacom. Viacom also has a company-wide educa- special. We need to continue to make New York We don’t have disparate businesses in our tion initiative called Get Schooled, which lever- a place that is friendly to business, which is a company: 100 percent of what we do is to cre- ages all of our brands to raise awareness about challenge because it’s an expensive and highly ate entertainment content through media net- the crisis in public education. Among other taxed city. works like MTV and Nickelodeon or through things, we weave educational themes into our Companies like ours, which employ many Paramount Pictures. Compelling, popular con- programming, air public service announce- young, talented people, want our employees to tent is where it begins and ends for us. ments, and run a mentoring program. be able to afford to live here. Our company is organized to support the The younger generation today wants to Has a private sector Mayor like Michael people who create shows, digital experiences, and work for companies that do good in the com- Bloomberg been important in terms of devel- motion pictures for our audiences. We are focused munity, that look beyond fi nancial priorities – so oping a strong public/private relationship? on how to enable that process and how to mon- our efforts are good for business and for society. Absolutely. This is a complicated city to etize the result, which includes extending it to new It has been suggested that young peo- run and there will always be a lot of fi scal and technologies and expanding into new geographies. ple today do not have a sufficient work other challenges. We continually infuse new thinking, fresh ethic. Do you see that? Being the Mayor of New York is much like ideas and different approaches to take our Actually, there are people in their 20s cre- being a Chief Executive – you must be an effec- brands to the next level. ating great companies. tive manager with a deft political touch.• 32 LEADERS POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © 2011 LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC. VOLUME 34, NUMBER 4