TVBEurope 37
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature
Ten inspirational women in the broadcast industry Sophie Wilson, director of sales and marketing at PHA Media, draws attention to the hugely successful women in our industry and recognises their important contributions to the broadcast sector
T
his year’s January edition of TVBEurope
have inspired me throughout my career a voice
outlined some sobering statistics
and show how, through their success, they are
surrounding gender imbalance in business,
bucking the broadcast business trend.
citing the 2013 Interbrand annual list, which
The gender imbalance in broadcast was discussed at BVE in a session hosted by Sadie Groom, far left
Anne-Louise Buick, head of portfolio marketing, Ericsson TV Compression
of Brightcove, estimated the even bleaker 1:50
Abigail Walmsley, sales manager, SES ASTRA
female to male ratio in the broadcast industry.
Walmsley’s technical
of the industry is as broad
With the gender pay gap at an all-time low,
knowledge and business
as it is deep. In the time that
according to the CMI’s National Management
tenacity, combined
I’ve known her, she has led
Salary Survey 2014, members of the sisterhood
with her ability to read
the marketing drive at IP
revealed that only 19 per cent of FTSE 100 board members are female. Sue Thexton, SVP
could be forgiven for thinking that all is doom
people and understand what their business
and gloom.
objectives, are what makes her, in my eyes,
Buick’s technical knowledge
technology manufacturers, vendors and manufacturers
‘the full package’. She describes being sales
to the broadcast industry. Her ability to understand
has not simply survived, but thrived in the
manager at SES ASTRA UK as her “ideal job” and
and explain the often complex product portfolios
broadcast industry, I wanted to paint a more
spends most of her time in high-level negotiations
she looks after is always something that I have
positive picture. Throughout a ten-year career
with current and potential clients who want to
admired about her, as well as her brilliance with
spanning everything from licensing, production,
rent space on SES transponders. With millions of
building relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
playout and satellite through to transcoding,
pounds at stake, Walmsley readily admits that
advertising, transmission, digital and post, I have
this is what makes her career so stimulating.
TV Compression, Buick says: “Compression
encountered many talented women touching all
“I’ve always loved the cut and thrust of selling.
performance (delivering unrivalled video and
areas of the broadcast chain.
You have to know your product inside out and
picture quality at optimum definition, while
backwards, as well as the technology that
protecting bandwidth) is the absolute mantra
agency that is 60:40 weighted towards women,
enables everything to happen.” As one of a very
within the Ericsson TV Compression business. This
and the only employer that I have ever worked for
small minority of women working in this side of the
belief and investment in quality over bandwidth,
to have a female member of the board, I thought
business, Walmsley has inspired me by smashing
achieved through an established, market leading
that the time was right to give ten women that
the satellite industry glass ceiling.
product portfolio is a marketer’s dream.”
However, speaking as a woman who
Now in the fortunate position of working for an
Now head of portfolio marketing at Ericsson