What Fuels Our Industry’s Rising Stars?

MFM-BCCA would like to introduce you to our “People to Watch” in 2016. We hope their stories will help inspire you to become a person to watch within your own organization this year.

Our leaders, whose actions are changing both their companies and the way the media industry will do business in the future, were chosen from among a number of deserving nominations by the editorial board of TFM – The Financial Manager magazine. I’d like to share a few examples of the leadership characteristics and organizational roles that helped them to stand out from the pack. You can also gain deeper insights from their full profiles that are available in the digital copy of the January-February 2016 issue of TFM currently available on our website.

Vance Luke, VP-controller, Gray Television

Vance Luke is recognized as “The Shared Service Innovator” by TFM and his colleagues. That’s a much bigger job than when Luke joined Gray in 1996 as part of its acquisition of two TV stations from Phipps Broadcasting. These brought Gray’s station count up to a grand total of five. Fast forward 20 years to 2016 and the company will have 55 stations in 50 markets when its current transactions are finalized.

Running its operations from a centralized environment has been key to how the company has managed to absorb its acquisitions without a hiccup – and how it will absorb future purchases. Luke’s ability to identify ways shared services can improve the company’s performance is one of the traits that has helped him become a rising star within the company.

“Vance is very forward looking in how we can apply technology to streamline workflows and increase efficiencies,” says Jim Ryan, SVP-CFO of Gray.

In fact, Trisha Allen, who’s been Gray’s director of broadcast accounting since 2006, considers Luke a visionary. “We don’t ever stand still. If anything, sometimes I feel like we run too fast. Vance is always looking for a better way to do things.”

Luke’s advice to others? “My philosophy is never to do anything that’s just going to get you by today. Make sure you’re refining the processes to absorb whatever reasonable growth is expected. And make sure your back-end systems are scalable and are able to grow with you in the future.”

Shane Johnson, VP-controller, Turner International

“Think Globally, Act Locally” could have been coined to describe Shane Johnson who oversees the accounting operations of Turner channels around the world. In implementing the company’s strategy of melding its international and domestic U.S. operations, the global aspect of Johnson’s role is “to simplify things and bring best practices across the regions that have previously acted independently.”

While global consolidation can bring about a number of operational efficiencies, Johnson is also aware of the importance of acting locally. This is one of the reasons the company split its accounting and finance functions. Doing so allowed finance to be more focused on the business while accounting gained efficiencies.

Reflecting on the challenge of overseeing channels in a number of different countries, Johnson finds “you look different, and there are different languages. There are different tax rules, different accounting rules and currencies.”

When asked to give advice to aspiring financial managers, Johnson emphsizes the importance of stretching oneself professionally and getting out of a personal comfort zone. “That’s what’s drawn me [to working overseas]. There’s nothing that’s a given.”

Johnson’s global experiences have taught him a big lesson. “There’s a need to be flexible and open to all solutions, and not easily accept the most apparent one. It’s easy to look at the most obvious choice and pursue it very quickly. But sometimes it’s not the best answer.”

Keri Curtis, SVP-chief accounting officer, Gatehouse Media

Kirk Davis, CEO of Gatehouse Media, says he’s watching every move made by our PTW honoree, Keri Curtis, the company’s SVP and chief accounting officer. “And I’m watching she doesn’t go anywhere,” he adds with a laugh.

It’s easy to understand Davis’ high regard for Curtis. She has been playing a critical role in guiding the company through an entire life cycle, from bankruptcy to its present super-charged state as one of the largest local media publishers in the U.S.

Referring to the six months it took Gatehouse to move out of the bankruptcy period, and then the creation of a new public company, Curtis says: “I hope it’s the most difficult thing I’ll ever have to go through in my career. But it’s also just amazing what you learn along the way.” For example, she learned how to communicate with outside people during the bankruptcy, to explain the positive aspects of how the company was changing.

Effective communication has also been critical within the company, which counts 18 acquisitions in 10 months. Weekly team meetings and off-site events have helped Curtis get to know the team better, “she’s refreshed and revitalized the culture,” comments Gregory Freiberg, CFO of Gatehouse’s parent, New Media Investment Corp.

Curtis’s advice to others includes the importance of offering solutions rather than just identifying problems. “That will make such a big difference in how you’re viewed, whether it’s by your manager or the CEO of the company.”

Josh Rinehults, controller of newspaper operations, BH Media Group.

Ask Josh Rinehults, controller of newspaper operations at BH Media Group, what the secret sauce is that’s made him a success, and he’s likely to talk about the importance of “yes.”

“I try to find ways to be able to get to a ‘yes’ response,” Rinehults says. “One of the things I’ve tried to do in my career is have the confidence to say: ‘I can’t think of a way to get that done, but give me some time to brainstorm and come up with a solution.’ And oftentimes I’m able to do so.”

It’s also about going the extra mile. Rinehults, who was working at Media General when Berkshire Hathaway bought the company’s newspaper assets in 2012, has been in the thick of all the changes brought about from a series of newspaper acquisitions over the past three years. He sums it up by saying: “It is definitely the most challenging role that I’ve had, and one where I feel I have the opportunity to have a big impact.”

Like Keri Curtis, Rinehults puts a lot of emphasis on team building. One of the big lessons he’s learned “is to take the time to develop your employees — and give them credit when they do a great job.”

What we learned when interviewing our 2016 honorees and other leaders in the media financial community is that they aren’t big on self-promotion. Unfortunately, that can limit the way others see them.

When working with the co-chairs of our upcoming MFM CFO Summit, we identified this external perception as one of the topics we wanted to tackle. We were fortunate to find an expert in Lee Hecht Harrison’s Dale Klamfoth, who says it’s important to push beyond our comfort zone when it comes to talking about ourselves. This is particularly true in the broadcast television industry, where consolidation is increasing competition for a smaller number of senior management opportunities.

Klamfoth will be leading a session entitled “Personal Branding: “Who Do You Say You Are and Getting Others to Agree?” at next month’s Summit, Feb. 25-26, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

As the saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I encourage you to join us in showing our “People to Watch” in 2106 that sincere flattery by following their excellent examples.

Mary M. Collins is president and CEO of the Media Financial Management Association and its BCCA subsidiary. She can be reached at [email protected]. Her column appears in TVNewsCheck every other week. You can read her earlier columns here.