Ten

Musings from Dennis #58: TEN YEARS. 10 years ago this day of Feb 18 in 2013, I stepped into the Singapore office of Nickelodeon / MTV Consumer Products and began what was going to be a great, exciting and wonderful adventure that has yet to stop! After 16 years of handling Disney franchises it was not easy to make that mental move to the world of SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dora the Explorer at that time. I recall getting flak from my new colleagues in my first 6 months: Typing Mickey instead of Mikey, saying Disney Junior instead of Nick Junior et al.. My first trade presentation barely 2 months into the job saw me memorizing and internalizing everything there is to know about the properties we represent. The Singtel (a Singapore telco) head who was ex-Disney Channel found it hard to see me in an orange tee with the words “Nickelodeon” across my chest. My former licensees came over to express how hard it was for them to hear me say Dora and not Pooh… all those memories. I did know exactly how to do my job, just that the information was totally new to me – but this baby alien was going to grow and grow and 8 months later I took full charge. Top of mind was to add value to the business and not just be pedestrian. I believe I strongly delivered and continue to do so. I am just so grateful to the generous and open hearts of the Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, New York, London, Sydney, Mexico City and Miami team mates who opened themselves to me and made me feel absolutely welcomed. It is a gift from such an incredible company (now called Paramount Global) that pays forward – so if you are new and reading this, please allow me to show you around!