Network Manager
Middle East Broadcasting Center
Dubai - United Arab Emirtes
As head of the group broadcast network, I was involved in all aspect of TV and radio broadcasting operations, including managing satellite capacity and the sourcing and management of service providers. Highlights of my time in this role include launching the satellite operation desk for Al ARABIA news channel. I established operation centres in over 50 countries around the world, trained newly hired operation staff, and set up the satellite booking systems. I also created a business model and workflow for the group news gathering operation.- Managing the group satellite DTH network took critical planning and was essential in order to deliver on key targets such as controlling the DTH cost while rapidly expanding and keeping up with the group new launches (often a new TV or Radio service every 6-10 months). The result was a more unified, optimised DTH capacity, with cost savings of no less than 90 millon USD over a decade of operating the group satellite DTH network.- One key project involved transforming this highly efficient and far reaching content distribution network into a commercial model, serving the external client rather than just serving the group’s internal departments. I had an immense success, with an immediate take up from hundreds of media companies. We took an internal department and transformed it into a service provider called Middle East News (MEN), utilising investments into existing assets and human resources. The task was massive and involved managing various aspects of the business, from technology interconnectivity to human resource training for operations and client servicing, to managing budgets and revenues with a multi-million dollar turnover, (net income to the group in the first 18 months of operations).