Readly

Managing the Global Operations Team responsible for the publication of >5,000 magazines on the Readly platform

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
■ Plan and monitor the day-to-day running of the Operations Business to ensure maximum efficiencies

■ Continuous evaluation of the efficiency of business procedures according to organisational objectives, and apply improvements; validate overall performance by gathering, analysing and interpreting data and metrics

■ Manage relationships and contracts with external vendors, including new partner assessments

■ Review financial information and adjust operational budgets to promote profitability

■ Develop the vision and strategy for Global Operations

■ Management of company-wide projects and programmes

Head of Content Operations

Scripps Networks Interactive

I identified areas of the business that needed developing, and created solutions to make the operations more efficient and productive, directly and positively impacting the performance of the company

Strong project planning skills; highly experienced in working with internal and external development teams and provided direction for business development

Oversaw system testing and upgrades; created testing requirements and 12 month project plans

Excellent understanding and experience of change management and business escalation


ACHIEVEMENTS
■ Reduced business critical issues by 65% in the first 8 weeks of managing the Programme Rights and Financial system

■ Increased data entry productivity by 500% (15 hrs to 3 hrs) by implementing automated data upload

■ Reduced requirement of external consultancy by developing and delivering in-person training to team

■ Oversaw the financial month end reconciliation of six major external deals resulting in $9.5M of revenue being recognised in fiscal year

■ Presented departmental strategies in workshops and company meetings of up to 120 people

■ Led three major system upgrades in eight months resulting in the resolution of 13 critical issues and 4 enhancements

Senior International Business Analyst

Leadership role responsible for operations and business administration of all owned and operated channels across the UK, EMEA, APAC & Latam


KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
■  Management of programme rights across internal and external international business

■  Management of in-house fulfilment

■  Budgeting and forecasting of external agency spend
 
■  Operational planning and development
 
■  Revenue & feasibility analysis of new and existing business


KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
■  Delivered 7% saving in external agency costs through simplified budget management and better use of internal resources

■  Customised 160 hours of Lifestyle programming; negotiated costs with external vendors

■  Oversaw a 49% YoY increase in programme fulfilment of owned and operated channels by introducing standardised workflows and quarterly data management analysis

■  Member of management team responsible for implementing a Rights and Financial management system across the international business
 
■  Analysed 40,000 hours of programme rights to ensure a successful launch of a new
channel across 19 countries; oversaw the launch fulfilment of 250 hrs of content

Director of International Operations & Distribution

Discovery Communications

Managed projects for Discovery Communications, the world's #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in 210 countries (revenue of $4.5 billion in 2012)

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
■  Oversaw programme business operations and managed a multi-million dollar programming budget within Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa whilst reviewing and monitoring all budget expenditure

■  Advised on channel strategy and financial modelling processes on channel launches and new business initiatives

■  Delivered over 1,500 hours of TV programme rights, resulting in the launch of three new channels in Africa

■  Aligned as a key member of the international management team for the global rollout of company-wide multi-million dollar content and finance system

■  Chaired and organised International Planning forums for programme and channel strategy, as well as business operations and best practices


KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
■  Achieved increase in efficiency of a newly acquired TV channel in the Middle East by developing a streamlined content supply strategy

■  Implemented new tax directive including organising staff, technology and operations to achieve a semi-automated process at negligible operating cost to the business

■  Led on the delivery of a $45M programming budget within <1% of plan by comprehensive reporting and presentations to senior management

■  Won two company awards for the control and forecast of business budget strategy and the successful launch of a company wide programming system

■  Achieved 40% reduction in financial and information errors by creating automated budget reviews and standardised data inputting, as well as, a 100% internal and external audit pass rate

■  Reduced labour costs by developing automatic database averting need for additional hire

Programme Operations and Content Manager

Managed a team of three people accountable for the programme supply and monitoring and managing of TV programme rights 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
■  Improved level of team efficiency by conducting work-flow assessment and re-organising staff roles 

■  Tracked multi million dollar budget within Europe, Middle East and Turkey

■  Advised project team on over 2,000 programming hours and acquiring programmes from both Discovery and external production companies

■  Managed and reviewed the programme portfolio whilst processing all financial payments 

■  Launched a high definition channel in France and a lifestyle channel in Portugal to increase market share in these regions creating new business and increased revenue


KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
■  Built team from 2 to 4 individuals over a short period of time and securing 100% staff retention

■  Supervised financial database reconciliation resulting in $1M records amended

Programme Rights Supervisor (EMEA)

■  Supported the Director of Programming with new channel launches and implementation of channel strategies through the assessment and administration of programme rights

■  Handled all aspects of the purchasing and administrative duties for the Discovery channels across Europe, Middle East and Africa

■  Made editorial decisions on programming in compliance with OFCOM and Discovery guidelines

■  Researched and sourced programming material from external production and distribution companies and liaising with individual country planners 

■  Ensured all payments, contracts and legal requirements were accurate and meet specific standards

Programme Rights and Evaluation Executive (EMEA)

Inside Luxury Travel

Programme Producer on international programme broadcast in over 100 million countries

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
■  Organised and coordinated all aspects of the show and researched and created a three week travel production itinerary


KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
■  Achieved full programme production in less than three months and under £60K

Programme Producer

Delivered a series of projects across the UK to improve and develop the working practices in the Audience Research Department

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
■  Implemented 8 individual projects - meeting all requirements on time and in budget


KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
■  Achieved $100K reduction in department overspend by establishing ROI metrics and budget controls to improve prioritisation of the $2M department budget

■  Delivered 15% improvement in efficiency and accuracy by standardising procedures and reporting

Project Manager (6 month contract)

BBC Studios and Post Production

Played a key supervisory role in the Studio Allocations Department and leading a team of 8 employees responsible for coordinating and scheduling over 400 in-house and freelance staff for the 15 TV studios across London

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
■  Negotiated on a regular basis with union, including scheduling, under European and union rules 


KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
■  Delivered cost reductions of 20% by assessing and appraising two new external staffing agencies

■  Reduced business costs and time by an average of 4 minutes per schedule change by implementing innovative approach

Studio Allocations Supervisor

Coordinated and scheduled camera operators, engineers and electricians for studios within Television Centre and Elstree

Studio Allocator

Supported the Allocations Team and ensured all studio staffing requirements were met

Studio Allocations Team Assistant

I can help senior teams launch new business, drive efficiencies and develop operations. I have over 20 years' experience of business analysis, strategic development and cross-functional team leadership.

The best operational minds in the industry all have one thing in common — the ability to zoom out to zoom back in.

Which in technical terms, is they either have the practical solutions to establish and implement effective strategies, or work with someone like myself to implement the systems for them.


**A BIT ABOUT ME**

With over 20 years experience within the industry, my mission is to help Operations Leaders to simplify and rectify challenging projects so they can build a successful business whilst achieving their goals and objectives.

Whether looking to increase revenue, build and develop a team, implement organisational change or reduce operating costs, I specialise in delivering practical strategies, systems, and processes that not only simplify but produce strong results.


**WHAT I'VE DONE IN THE PAST**

During my career I have helped to grow small businesses from start-up to profitability, and multi-national organisations from million dollar revenues to billion dollar revenues.

Successes include:
•	Building the International Sales division at Scripps Networks from start-up to a multi-million dollar business
•	Growing the EMEA business at Discovery inc. through the launch of new channels and managing the $80M programming budget
•	Expanding the global operations at Readly and increasing production efficiency by 20% in 6 months through the introduction of automated tasks and standardising procedures across department


**WHY AM I DIFFERENT**

Operational Leaders want to understand the best and most productive ways to implement positive and critical change.

My understanding of both the technical and commercial sides of business means I have been able to support leaders at all levels. Together we have consistently delivered innovative and effective solutions resulting in significant benefits and increased revenue.

For the past 10 years I have been a major contributor to business growth and can implement organisational change, reduce operating costs and increase profit. I am skilled at forming new alliances and can open dialogue at senior management and board level. I am also experienced in leading teams, as well as working in a self-motivated environment.


**CONTACT**

If you would like to know more, please DM me on Linkedin or email me at thomas.heneker@hotmail.co.uk

And If you are interested in how to implement tried and tested strategies into your business, you are very welcome to visit my website www.thomas.heneker.com

Thomas M Heneker

Discovery Inc

Manage projects and workflows for the Brand Marketing Operations team to efficiently manage marketing assets thru life-cycle and archive for domestic and international networks.
● Manage process and communication with stakeholders, vendor developers, internal IT leaders, and Change Control Board on the build and release of PromoAlley – a $2million FMP-based marketing asset life-cycle system currently rolled out to all legacy SNI brands and scheduled to be rolled out to all Discovery international and domestic networks in 2019. 
● Partner with creative services ops teams across legacy Scripps brands to streamline workflows, naming conventions, and folder structures that allow efficient flow, tracking and management of marketing assets through multiple systems. 
● Draw and present workflow diagrams for stakeholders, internal teams and other internal or external partners.
● Direct Appian developers to create and continually modify font request app that tracks each request thru Legal review, approval and server upload.
● Lead the merger of DCI and SNI font servers to one cloud-based solution and recommend best practices for combined enterprise font management.

☛Selected Achievements: 
● Successfully launched PromoAlley to six networks, including data-migration from legacy On-Air-Pro systems.  
● Led the audit of enterprise Extensis server reviewing licenses for over 7000 fonts and removing hundreds of unlicensed fonts while updating designers and stakeholders throughout the process.
● Partnered with Engineering team to design and test archive system and workflow for raw and finished assets from QSAN to LTO to cloud.

Project Manager

Assemble, lead, and manage a client-focused team of full-time and freelance video editors and media managers through collaboration, cutting, delivery and archiving of compelling network launches, topicals, sizzles, affiliate, off-air campaigns.
● Manage budgeting post costs including invoice reconciliation and forecasting facility/personnel costs and plans.
● Partner with PR, marketing strategy, corporate communications, international, and digital to develop and share assets.
   Negotiate rates and scheduling of vendors for on/off-air campaigns and ad sales marketing spots.
● Develop workflow strategy with production companies to reduce costs and more quickly get shoot footage into edit.
● Troubleshoot technical and operational situations with facility, workflow, project moves, and spot delivery.
☛Selected Achievements: 
● Transitioned promo editing and library from external to internal facility and converted from tape to digital spot delivery.
● Partnered with NY Engineering and Scripps Ops TN to construct and move into a new post facility with nine edit suites, a media manager system and a pro tools suite, which enabled 30% in audio cost savings by internalizing audio work.
● Led the post-production platform move from FCP/XSAN to AVID/ISIS during physical move with no client downtime.
● Leveraged team technical knowledge on deliverables and rebrands to create how-to guides for vendors.

Post Production Manager

Middle East Broadcasting Networks

Hired and managed a multi-cultural team of 12 editors in a 24x7 international news environment tasked with creating packages and programs for Current Affairs and Network News departments.
● Facilitated post-production workflows during company-wide transition of media asset management system from Cinegy to BitCentral.
● Enabled additional edit shifts without incurring additional costs by changing the post-production team from a 4x10 workweek to a 5x8 workweek.
● Initiated cross department QC with Master Control and Ingest.

Accountable for the following lines of business: International Program Sales, Int’lHome Video, Private Networks, & Canada Joint Ventures. 
● Directed all production operations for a $40MM revenue sales group, including all content delivery and fulfillment, client communication, and forward-looking technology needs.
● Managed yearly operations budget of expenses worth over $2MM - reconciling over $150K per month.
● Initiated and developed process for digital delivery of program screeners resulting in 66% ($60,000) cost reduction for semi-annual trade show.
● Reduced overall departmental cost of creating client screeners by 50% through building relationships with internal and external technical facilities.
● Produced short form content and trailer DVDs for MIP/MIPCOM and other industry markets and advised sales/management team on technical issues.

Production Operations Manager

Managed video, audio and graphics post-production processes for network editorial teams at in-house facility.
● Served as post-production producer on “Before the Dinos”, Primetime Emmy winner for Outstanding Animated Program.
● Oversaw same-day turnaround of reversions, video fixes, and new audio mixes for high-profile projects including “Drew Carey’s World Cup” and “5 Takes.”
● Represented Travel and Discovery Home in supervising several editorial audio mixes and video edit sessions.
● Produced “Special Edition: Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” - a one-hour program.

Produced and reversioned programs for exhibition on Discovery’s international networks.
● Directed voice-overs and shoots for reversion, cut-ins, etc. and managed teams of writers and editors.
● Produced “Journey Through India” for HD Theater from shooting through HD online, mix, and delivery.

Producer

Managed a team of editors reversioning and editing programs for Discovery’s Asia and Latin America regions.
● Budgeted and reconciled reformatting costs for ~150 hours of international programming each quarter.
● Managed the workflow formatting US content for Discovery UK Networks.
● Provided editorial direction for formatting content to Discovery International standards.

Network Manager

Managed the on-location HD edit facility, which encompassed six linear and non-linear edit stations, seven edit personnel, daily uplinks, press duplications to multiple formats and standards and over 500 tape sources.
● Played an integral role in the launch one of the first major multi-million dollar HD on-location projects with 19 camera crews.
● Scouted TV Production’s on-location site, buildings, lighting, electricity, and vendors while working with the HD sponsor (Sony), to allocate proper HD resources for on-location edit, uplink facility, and post-production.
● Coordinated graphic animation overhaul between two graphic houses. Edited pre-race programs for joint Discovery/SONY press conferences and managed the transfer/logistics for TV production equipment (value $5 million) to Argentina and back

Freelance Associate Producer

Leverage a results-driven approach to design, implement and maintain content delivery workflow for internal and external, domestic and international clients. Utilize a combination of innovation, experience, communication, technology, and strong problem-solving skills to drive cross-functional teams to achieve goals.
If I sound like somebody who can add value to your organization, I'd love to have a conversation. Please contact me at hurstjohnson@gmail.com or 202.758.4312

Core Competencies:
Project Management, Enterprise-wide Projects, Team Leadership 
Budget Management & Purchasing, Cost Savings Initiatives, Project Oversight 
Technical Implementations, Workflow & Procedure Development, Process Improvements 
Client Service, Relationship Management, Quality Control
Videography, Operations, Editing , Producing, Post-Production , Broadcast Television, Digital Media
Scheduling

Technologies: 
FileMaker Pro, PromoAlley, Appian, Avid Media Composer + ISIS, Final Cut Pro + Adobe Premiere Pro, BitCentral, Quantum StorNext, Extensis Cloud 




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