Darren Nielson Email & Phone Number

Los Angeles, Ca, Us

Los Angeles, California, United States

Global Head of Wondery's premium subscription podcast business.

Developed curriculum and teaching graduate level course on analytics in the media and entertainment industry for the Management of Science and Business Analytics program

Guiding strategic decisions for a privately-held streaming service in the MENA region as a Member of the Board of Directors and Content Sub Committee

Santa Monica, California, United States

Promoted to run the international division for STARZ's subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) business. Leading a team of 100+ executives and staff across business development, marketing, content, and operations with full P&L ownership; reporting to Starz CEO; key accomplishments include:- Creating a growth marketing strategy that yielded $15m in annual savings while achieving performance targets- Revising our first-run content strategy to focus on "big bet" series and created a global center of excellence for local original programming- Guiding the creation and implementation of award-winning, 360-degree marketing campaigns that increased brand awareness and consideration by +50% in 12 months- Securing a brand partnership with McDonald's for their Monopoly campaign that generated over $10m in earned media and increased sign-ups on our direct-to-consumer app by 3x- Creating and implementing a plan to successfully exit EU and Latin American markets and restructured the international division, delivering more than $12m in annual G&A savings and successfully leading the division through significant change- Developing and communicating international strategy, priorities, and business results to the executive leadership team, Lionsgate Board of Directors, and key stakeholders

Santa Monica, California, United States

Spearheaded the launch of Starz's SVOD service to over 60 countries across Europe, Canada, Latin America, and Asia in less than 4 years; created and managed more than 50 distribution partnerships; reported to division President; promoted from SVP in 2021; key accomplishments included:- Developed a comprehensive go-to-market strategy encompassing pricing models, distribution channels, critical launch procedures, operational workflows, and promotional campaigns- Sourcing, negotiating, and closing more nearly 100 commercial agreements with global over-the-top platforms (Amazon, Apple, YouTube), leading consumer electronic devices (Roku, Samsung), and regional telcos (Sky, Telefonica, Vodafone, Canal+)- Hiring and leading a team of 10+ business development and account management executives in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Miami- Managing all aspects of distribution partnerships, including subscriber and revenue forecasting, KPI tracking, and implementation of growth and engagement initiatives and price promotions- Negotiating a bundle with a leading streaming service with >$125m in guaranteed revenue- Driving business priorities across product and engineering teams to manage the roll-out of new direct-to-consumer markets, partner integrations, and app features

Los Angeles, California, United States

An early-stage content executive who played a key role in the transformation of Netflix from a domestic DVD business into the leader in global streaming; reported to the VP of Content Acquisition; key accomplishments included:- Growing the international segment from inception to over 68m paid subscribers and $5b in annual revenue- Partnering with legal, marketing, and PR teams to successfully launch in over 15 countries in under five years using a “white glove” approach- Directing worldwide negotiations for TV and film licensing with an annual budget of more than $1bCreated new licensing models with partners, including Netflix's first slate of licensed original series outside the US and international co-productions- Identifying and establishing more than 25 new content partnerships with international producers and distributors to build local content offerings and diversify the supplier basePartnered with operations and merchandising teams to onboard hundreds of titles in over 170 countries and 30 languages- Collaborating with product teams to develop and roll out pricing tiers and new features, including temporary downloads and traveling subscriptions

Culver City, California, United States

Developed business unit strategy and drove M&A and partnerships across Sony Pictures TV; reported to SVP of Business Development; key accomplishments and responsibilities included:- Driving the annual long-range business planning process across global TV group, encompassing production, distribution, networks, and digital business units- Creating business plans, securing funding, and establishing partnerships, and launching two new US cable networks- Leading the valuation and negotiation of the sale of Sony's interest in multiple premium Pay TV assets in Europe and LATAM resulting in +$1b of earnings- Building a business plan to convert an early entrant in over-the-top video from a user-generated platform into an ad-supported, long-form video service

Santa Monica, California, United States

Developed and executed strategies for leveraging Ascent’s core assets in content management and distribution into branded digital networks for big-box retailers

Master Of Business Administration - Mba, Finance And Strategy

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Environmental Studies