Question: If you could have dinner with one individual, past or present, who would it be? Why?

Don't think of another ordinary meal in one of the tons of fancy restaurants in town; instead, picture a cooking spectacle in which I can fully exercise my talent and creativity elaborating a feast. After all, the opportunity to meet someone I deeply admire is a unique occasion. Dinner is served: dishes from all over the world, multiple cultures and references, colors, and aromas! Just as my guest must have wished when he first dreamed about his last project, the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT). Walt Disney, the visionary "man behind the magic" who revolutionized the Entertainment Industry with his creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, would be my special invitee. But what to ask a man who created, from a sketch, a 47-billion-dollar company?

The ability of companies to innovate is, in my opinion, one of the most critical issues involved in competitiveness. Thus, if this event had subtitles, they would read: "How have you nurtured an organizational culture where new ideas are expressed and stimulated, fostering a climate of creativity in which new concepts are propelled from creation to implementation?" Next, I would explore his talent of salesman. "How can I develop your kind of ability to convince not only professional investors but also my employees to believe and drop their dollars into risky ideas? How would you translate your most famous quote ?"If you can dream, you can do it" ?into practical actions?" After all, who would have estimated the ROI of the production of the first animated feature-length film (Snow White) back in 1934? Finally, after serving dessert, I would like to have his tips for me to develop a truly entrepreneurial attitude.

Question: Answer the following five questions.

My passion is to create high-technology products. For the past four years, my work has been extremely fulfilling as I am given opportunities to lead, manage and develop leading edge software products. It is my dream to build a successful company focusing on high technology.

To fulfil this dream, my career plan is to build a solid foundation of project management and people skills, as well as in-depth and broad technical knowledge, with the goal of being a successful entrepreneur by the age of 37.

- If you could have dinner with one individual, past or present, who would it be? Why?

Although my heart says Meg Ryan, my brain decides that I would have dinner with Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs is undoubtedly one of the most charismatic CEO in the computer industry. I respect him for his entrepreneur drive, creativity and success. Two of the companies he co-founded, Apple and Pixar, are innovative leaders in their fields. It would be an enlightening and humbling experience to have dinner with him and I would definitely benefit from the event.

- If you could change one characteristic about yourself, what would it be?

During work, I can be impatient at times; especially when deadlines are tight and the quality of the deliverables are less than expectations. Over the years, I have learnt to moderate my high expectations of others and practice empathy in a sincere and honest way. But I would like to improve this further to the extent that patience is my strength rather than weakness.

- Briefly state what you view as your most significant accomplishment (3 sentences or less).

Between September 2001 and March 2003, I was part of the [deleted] (an overseas IT subsidiary of [deleted] Corporation) management team that:
1) Expanded the scale of operation of [deleted] from 70 plus staff to more than 170 staff within 1.5 years.
2) Built up the project management and technical expertise of the local teams within 1 year to enable outsourcing of projects from [deleted] Corporation to [deleted] successfully.

- Describe your greatest professional challenge and how you resolved it.

In early 2002, I was tasked to form a product support team within a month (overseas posting), supporting a city-wide shipping community Internet portal. Most of the local employees perceived product support/service as lower value work and shunned such assignments. In this incident, I demonstrated excellent persuasion and leadership skills and was able to recruit a team of 5 willing members. Subsequently, we followed through with a well structured training programme and on-the-job training that build up the expertise of the team within 1 month. Due to the dedication of the assembled team, [deleted] was able to provide the high level technical product support to its valuable customers within the promised deadline.

Question: If you could change one characteristic about yourself, what would it be?

One year ago I called a meeting with [Company 1]'s commercial team to present my new Direct Marketing campaign and wrap up final implementation details. I was excited: the company had never approved such an innovative idea. My excitement contaminated the team so thoroughly that they wanted to implement it quickly and unconditionally. My IMPULSIVENESS was almost blinding my reasoning when I suddenly remembered an occasion when the same impulsiveness brought me a big headache. Years before, as a trainee at [Company 2], I had to launch a promotion that could be a real blast. Torpid by my impulsiveness, however, I simply forgot that our recently hired bread vendor might not be prepared for a fast increase in sales. The campaign itself was a hit, but when we ordered the extra necessary bread supply, the brand new vendor simply said: "I am sorry guys, terribly sorry! Even working under full capacity I cannot cover your needs. I lack personnel to handle the packaging section". I started cold sweating. I pictured the guy behind the counter, "Pardon me, customer. We are out of bread". Terrified at this possibility, I immediately gathered a team and there we went to the vendor's packaging section to help the supplier (and me) to deliver the product. We worked overnight and fortunately guaranteed that no customer hear the infamous apology.

Back to [Company 1], I interrupted the meeting and suggested that we implement the direct marketing action according to our commercial team's capacity to follow up the prospects. As predicted, the piece provided a return of over 60%, far outweighing the market average of 3%. Impulsiveness can get the engines running, but today, whenever I make an important decision, I resort to an ancient Roman poet, "Grant us a brief delay; impulse in everything is but a worthless servant."

Question: What are your professional goals? How do your past and present experiences relate to those goals?

I PICTURE myself PERFORMING a Marketing ROLE in the Media and Entertainment Industry. In the very short term I want to be working with a large M&E company, in charge of a significant division of that business. Among the many sectors available, I have a special interest in the New Media and Media Convergence sectors. But the range of possibilities within the M&E industry is so wide that I would be naive to point one that attracts me the most; I am confident that Haas will provide me with the necessary information and tools for a deeper evaluation of these the segments, allowing me to make my best choice.

Moreover, I wish to hold larger responsibilities. Knowing marketing principles is certainly an advantage in the tremendously competitive scenario we live in, but I need to learn further, I need to improve my General Management Skills to guarantee a successful path towards higher management positions.

In the long term I intend to make a particular dream come true. I will run my own business within this industry, developing an investment fund based on the Cultural Industry in [Country] - a daring dream with potential to transform the [Country] M&E Industry - which has always lacked financial and professional human resources. My work experiences have matched perfectly the Marketing career I designed in the very beginning. I have gathered many different experiences in diverse industries, to experience distinct Marketing realities, which can be applied in most industries. I worked with start-up companies and large multinationals and I have been given the opportunity to cross the traditional boundaries of Marketing touching the General Management field.

I believe choices cannot be motivated by single issues, such as financial rewards, success, pleasure or learning but by a combination of them all. The demanding reality of the business environment in our age, based on fast and increasingly results, can only lead me to a career which will enable me to deliver the expected outcomes and feel absolutely passionate about everyday. Aligning my passions with my job will grant me with a bright and successful future.

Thus, that is the reason I have chosen the Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry, one in which I have been involved during most of my career. From the publishing of [Company 3]'s first CD-ROM in [Country] when I was still a trainee to the promotion of Sports Events for [Company 4] as part of a global Marketing action during the 2000 Olympics. From my involvement with the [deleted] ?the largest music festival in LACE>Latin AmericaLACE> ?managing its Interactive Communication Strategy to my own personal entrepreneurial venture gathering people for cinema and gastronomy sessions. These are among the experiences I cherish the most, for they are also the most rewarding in my career. My E-commerce graduate course also helped me get involved with M&E since it broadened my mind to the amazing possibilities that will be opened with the convergence of different types of media and the development of new distribution channels in the industry.

Apart from that, my most recent experience at [Company 1] ?though not directly related to the Media & Entertainment industry - provided me with the knowledge of the particularities of Marketing in the Business-to-Business. A knowledge that I will certainly put into practice in the relations with the trade and the distribution segments within the M&E industry.

My decision to follow the M&E industry is also based on the great perspectives and challenges that the segment will face in the next decade. It is a 1.1-trillion-dollar industries experiencing great technological changes which will soon redefine the way people consume information and joy. Development of broadband channels will modify and expand the distribution market; traditional retail chains will confront the growing on-line marketplaces. Analog technologies will be replaced by digital radio and television. Simultaneously, cautious consumers, hesitant advertisers and piracy will temper growth, making it more difficult to implement new business models, models that will require a comprehensive strategic analysis and combination of the economic, cultural, and technological factors that will affect the industry's forecasted average annual growth of 4.8% until 2007. This challenge excites me as much as the opportunity does. It is a risky option. But no other industry could better translate a motto that marked my whole career: NO RISK, NO FUN.

Question: Describe your greatest professional challenge and how you resolved it.

It's tough to launch a new brand. Now picture how much tougher it can get to re-launch a wounded brand. [Company A] represented a huge challenge for any Marketing professional, for its brief history in the [Country] market had been all trouble. A combination of a mistaken brand positioning, a high price point, and intensive competition had forced their withdrawal from the market in less than 2 years. At the time I started working with [Company A], a customer's perception towards the brand was probably, "Well, you know, those guys don't offer the traditional Italian pizza and charge way above any pizza place on every corner". Thus, my challenge was to reintroduce [Company A] in [Country], breaking all misconceptions that customers had. The solution was a customer-centric Marketing Strategy based on consumer behavior analysis and surveys which I conducted. Through this strategy I decided which of [Company A]'s products could and could not be in the Market and what message to deliver in order to please the customer.
I changed the focus of the old operation thoroughly, redefined the target group (from adults to young adults) and repositioned the brand to the delivery-only market, avoiding the intensive competition of the whole market. I set up more competitive prices and decided not to simply import the products and concepts from the LACE>USLACE>, but rather adapt the product to the regional characteristics and customers' expectations. Today, a customer perception towards the brand is much different, "Man, these guys rock, there's no better pizza to ask at home. It's always delivered hot and crispy, way different from ordinary pizzas." I am proud to see that, through a customer-oriented strategy I was able to change the customer's perception, set new quality standards, and sediment the base for a consistent and effective growth of what today is a 30-store chain in the [Country] Market. It was also a truly entrepreneurial venture in which we made dough from flour, literally.