Career Advice Successful High flyers’ story

Zubin Gandevia, Asia-Pacific and Middle East president at Fox Networks Group, has come a long way since starting his first cable-TV network as a teenager

There are different routes into the TV business, but the one taken by Zubin Gandevia was almost certainly the most direct. As a 16-year-old in Mumbai, needing money to buy a motorcycle, he simply decided to set up his own cable network.

The business plan was pretty rudimentary: pitch his service to a few of the neighbours, persuade them to pay an installation fee, use that to buy basic hardware and rent popular Bollywood movies from the local video store, then plug in and play.

But it worked. Starved of quality entertainment on the main state-run channel, people signed up for the weekend. Then they paid for three-month subscriptions. And as revenue started to roll in, it gradually became possible to fund technical upgrades, improve choice and coverage, and start to think big.

Thus began a journey which, over the next 30 or so years, saw Gandevia become a leading figure in India’s satellite TV sector. Now it has him heading a 1,200-strong team as president of the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions for the Fox Networks Group, running dedicated channels broadcasting sports, movies, documentaries, and light entertainment and lifestyle shows.

Looking back, he is still genuinely surprised at how things have turned out. “I never dreamt I would have anything even a 100th of this,” he says. “I started out with 100 rupees, and used 75 of them to pay for my initial advertising flyers. As a result, I got 16 people to sign up, and things just kept growing.”

Early thoughts of being a chartered accountant were put to one side, partly because he was “terrible at studies”, but more relevantly because the prospects and payback as a young entrepreneur looked far more enticing.

For Gandevia, the catalyst was his father’s edict that if you want a motorcycle, you have to earn it. The family wasn’t hard up; this was simply a lesson about how the world works. A year earlier, though, he had already shown his entrepreneurial instincts, earning pocket money by approaching drivers at traffic lights and persuading them to display advertising stickers inside their windscreens.

It was an education in high-speed sales, with just a few seconds to conclude each “deal”. However, Gandevia soon realised he’d fare better by subcontracting the work to willing kids from the city’s slum districts – so that’s what he did.

“My dad said you get the basics at home, after that you’re on your own. It was cultural, but he was always there to help as a mentor. So was my aunt, who got the idea of running a cable business from a small village in Gujarat - and passed it on to me back in 1983.

“At first, I was making it up as I went along, living from one day to the next. You can’t imagine how many mistakes I made. The key, though, was to make sure the picture looked good on TV and, after that, as the business and technology evolved, it was all about killer content.”

In at the start of a fast-growing industry, Gandevia found himself caught up in a whirlwind of technical advances, negotiations, intensifying competition and consolidation over the next few years. New players and corporate giants were all scrambling for a share of what was becoming a very lucrative market.

Unfortunately, this also brought some unwanted approaches from shadowy underworld figures. So, with a too-good-to-refuse offer on the table from a shareholder in India’s largest cable network at the time, he opted to sell the business and join Star TV instead.

“At 27, I’d never worked for anyone else, had no clue about corporate life and no qualifications,” Gandevia says. “We met at the Taj hotel in Mumbai and they booked a ticket for me to fly to Hong Kong. I came for a couple of days, decided to give it a try, and 22 years later I’m still here.”

Initially assigned to Star in India, he first managed a joint venture with Zee TV. The channel was strong in cable, but Gandevia soon proved adept at launching new formats and platforms. Three years later, the shifting industry landscape brought a move to a new partnership between Fox and National Geographic. And, in 2006, another round of mergers and realignments saw him back in Hong Kong to drive organic growth by building viewer-ship, revenue, brands, channels and content for one of the largest media businesses in Asia.

At the operating level, current plans include having more Asia-produced content, enhancing the build-up and post-event analysis for major sports, localising promotional trailers, and customising prime-time output for different markets. For instance, National Geographic viewers in Singapore tend to prefer science; in Malaysia, they are keener on wildlife.

“When you go back to our core philosophy, it’s about finding and telling great stories,” Gandevia says. “That can be through sports, drama, Chinese or Hollywood movies, or a show like Asia’s Next Top Model.”

He adds that, as a leader, especially since turning 50, one of the most important tasks is to ‘incubate’ the next generation of leaders. That means really caring about the organisation, its future, and the diverse group of individuals charged with taking things forward.

Aside from such matters, Gandevia likes to spend time with family and friends outside the media business, something which also serves as a useful reality check.

“At home in Tai Tam, I’m a passionate, if lazy, gardener, planning the colours and buying the plants, but if possible letting my wife look after the work,” he says. “At some point, I’d like to try farming, perhaps doing truffles, or even shrimp farming, which was one of my earliest interests.”

 

SWITCHED ON

Zubin Gandevia’s advice on what to do to get ahead

Learn from life  “I know everyone should study hard, unlike me. Except for my children, though, I’m still not too concerned about people’s grades or which college they went to. I think the value you get from life lessons is far more important.”

Be passionate  “In terms of career choices, if you don’t love something, don’t do it. The world is so competitive nowadays that you can’t force yourself to excel at something if your heart isn’t in it.”

Make your mark  “There are, though, opportunities in so many different areas that everyone can find their niche. Put attitude over aptitude and just go for it.”

Knuckle down  “Be grateful for what you have and don’t spend your time hankering after the next promotion or the next thing. Put your head down, work hard, focus on doing a good job, and you will get noticed.” 

 


This article appeared in the Classified Post print edition as Channelling success.