ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Patrick Svensk is CEO of PodX and chairs three other companies. He's a straight-talking senior media executive who's transformed multiple companies as well as the industry. I loved his ability and willingness to flip between CEO and chair roles depending on need, his take on what it makes for a great transformer CEO in media and his total disregard for career planning and politics, but deep passion for great ideas wherever they come from, and entrepreneurship.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
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Instead of waiting for head-hunters create your own roles - pitch bold ideas directly to owners.
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Your growth as a leader is accelerated by finding a true mentor and an industry with high levels of growth and change.
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Ensure consistency in communication across all levels so the core strategic message remains focused and is understood by everyone.
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Become agile, lower fixed costs, don´t be afraid of outsourcing and focus on high-margin products.
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Build sustainable businesses by identifying future leaders early and providing equity-based incentives that mirror the success of founders.
BEST MOMENTS
“Two CEOs at 27 - One is impressive. Two is something special.”
‘We transformed into a company that generated new ideas and formats and sold those into production.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
Patrick Svensk is a Swedish media and entertainment leader with 35+ years’ experience as CEO, President, CoB, managing director and NED of several international entertainment, media, online gaming, SaaS and B2C and B2B digital businesses. Including Kinnevik (TV3), Hallstedt & Hvid, Kanal 5, Zodiak Media Group, MTG and Bright Group, several of which are Nasdaq listed. He founded SkyVentures and is the co-founder and CEO of PodX Group, backed by Qarlbo.
He has held non-executive positions for Betsson, Squid, Readly Group and several others. Today, he serves as non-exec chairman of Thunderful, Scrive Group and Hacksaw.
Patrick has led a major shift in European TV production – selling off in-house studios and technology, cutting fixed production headcount and building an IP-first model that relied on format development and flexible, freelance production teams. Today, he is transforming the world of podcasting.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricksvensk
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
If you're a CEO, Chairman or investor this is a destination podcast for you. At some time, all companies get out of step with their consumers, fall behind the competition or lose their top talent – or all three. The financial fallout can be severe.
The Transformer CEO podcast meets global leaders who have taken on the brief to transform their company from ugly duckling to swan. It explores their corporate and personal journey, their leadership values, their challenges and successes along with their mis-steps and learnings. It inspires those about to start, re-assures those already underway and offers a benchmark for those who feel they have concluded. If you want to know what it takes to succeed in tough environments, you'll not want to miss Transformer CEOs.
HOST BIO
Erik is described by CEO and Chairmen as "exceptional", "undoubtedly one of the top global HR leaders" and "a strong strategic thinker and amazing change leader". After 35 years working with some of the most successful companies on the planet including Diageo, GE, LEGO, HSBC and Pandora, he focuses in the podcast on sharing the unique character of corporate leaders who take on some of the biggest challenges and win. This is also a critical topic in his consulting work where he partners with CEO’s, Chairmen and Investors as Founder & Managing Director of Erik Schmidt Consulting & Advisory (erikschmidt.co.uk) to help companies achieve out-performance.
https://www.erikschmidt.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-erik/
This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
