SOFTWARE AND TECHNOLOGY
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Leading the Way OSN is one of the leading pay TV platforms in Middle East and North Africa. Founded in 2009, through the merger of Orbit and Showtime, the firm has tripled its subscriber base and significantly expanded its content portfolio and technology offering. Medea Nocentini discusses the positive experience she has had working as a woman in the corporate environment.
OSN’s long-term global and regional partnerships ensure that viewers of the pay TV platform across the MENA region always have first and exclusive access to premium content. The biggest Hollywood blockbusters, the latest TV series and general entertainment from leading studios such as Paramount, Disney, MGM, NBC Universal, HBO and DreamWorks are available first and exclusively on OSN. A pioneer in delivering premium children’s content, OSN has ten channels dedicated to family and children’s entertainment including OSN Movies Kids, Disney Channel HD, Disney XD and Nick Jr., among others. OSN’s compelling content is available ‘anytime, anywhere’ and ‘On Demand’ making OSN the go-to network for the best in TV entertainment. “I joined OSN in 2010 as a corporate development director reporting to the CFO; back then I had one manager in the team and I was focused on M&A and financial modelling. My role evolved in terms of responsibility as well as team size. I am now a member of the OSN leadership team, reporting to the CEO and manage more than 15 people. As VP Corporate Development, I lead the teams responsible for, corporate strategy and planning, strategy management, M&A and strategic partnerships, market and consumer intelligence.
“The majority of our business is B2C as we sell directly to consumers. We have a broad product offering, targeting Arab, as well as South Asian, Filipino and Western expats families. With more than 150 channels brought to our consumers through stateof-the-art technology platforms, we also offer standalone digital products targeting the youngest segments in the MENA region. The firm also distributes our products through telecom operators and dealers throughout the region.” Prior to joining OSN, Medea spent several years at Booz & Co. (former Booz Allen Hamilton) and worked on multiple strategic assignments across the globe, mainly in the consumer, media and telecom sectors. The experience at Booz was invaluable in terms of learning opportunities and exposure to senior stakeholders. As a woman working in the corporate environment, Medea explains that she never encountered challenges due to her gender. “I always felt I was treated in the same way as my male peers. I encountered the typical challenges related to personal and professional growth and to working in a multi-cultural environment (adjusting to different sensitivities and adopting effective communication styles). I had great bosses and mentors throughout my career that helped me overcome challenges and difficult situations. “
OSN takes pride in the fact they have an honest and fair recruitment process. Medea explains the diversity in their staff, saying, “More than 25% of our employees are women and that percentage increases in the senior staff. We consider diversity a driver of performance at any seniority level hence we recruit and promote accordingly.” Despite the fairness in OSN’s staff culture, Medea believes that the general corporate landscape would benefit from two significant things to make it easier for women to succeed. Firstly, she would like to see “more flexibility, for example, in the early stages of motherhood” and “great role models among senior leadership teams.”
“I always felt I was treated in the same way as my male peers.”
OSN is well positioned to keep leading the Pay TV market and driving its accelerated growth. The region is underpenetrated in terms of content pay propositions, despite its population’s content consumption patterns. “The opportunity for OSN is enormous,” says Medea. “I would expect our company to significantly grow its customer base in the next five years, by keeping its technology leadership position, increasing its brand reputation and continuing to invest in exclusive and premium content. “Our customer base has reached a six-digit highly valuable customer base in few years: leveraging our strong position in the premium family segment, we plan to drive our next phase of growth through investment in additional premium content and through digital distribution targeting the young and less affluent segment.” When discussing her own career and personal development, Medea states that she is happy at the company and would like to continue in her position. “I would like to keep growing and continue contributing to the company’s success within my current role. I am building a great team and with their help I will help achieve our ambitious goals and realize our CEO’s vision.”
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