{"id":10448,"date":"2010-12-09T14:13:05","date_gmt":"2010-12-09T18:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=10448"},"modified":"2015-10-20T15:09:06","modified_gmt":"2015-10-20T19:09:06","slug":"ceo-of-nbc-universal-shares-insights-into-his-path-to-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2010\/12\/ceo-of-nbc-universal-shares-insights-into-his-path-to-success\/","title":{"rendered":"CEO of NBC Universal shares insights into his path to success."},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeff Zucker, a Miami public school graduate who rose to the CEO\u2019s office at NBC Universal, told an audience of Florida International University (FIU) students, faculty and alumni that taking risks—and accepting responsibility—were the foundations of his success in business.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Jeff Zucker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThink about the status quo and question the business models in place each step of the way,\u201d he told an audience of 200 assembled for the Wertheim Lecture at the College of Business Administration.<\/p>\n

After he failed to get into Harvard Law School, Zucker\u2019s 25-year tenure at NBC began with an internship at the Olympics. He first caught the nation\u2019s eye as the 26-year-old executive<\/p>\n

producer of the Today<\/em> show, which he transformed from a ratings laggard into the dominant morning network news program by hiring new anchors and dramatically changing the structure of the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was single, I had no kids, and it became my whole life,\u201d he said. \u201cI understood the legacy of the Today<\/em> show and what it meant to NBC, but I wasn\u2019t bound by that legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another challenge came as he took the helm of NBC\u2019s entertainment division in 2000. CBS had moved its popular show Survivor<\/em> to Thursdays, challenging NBC\u2019s dominant comedy lineup. Taking inspiration from McDonald\u2019s, Zucker created the now-popular concept of \u201csupersizing\u201d shows, adding extra minutes to hold the audience. \u201cTen years later, everyone supersizes their best shows,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
An audience of more than 200 attended Zucker\u2019s Wertheim Lecture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The third example: Digital distribution. After Saturday Night Live<\/em>\u2019s \u201cLazy Sunday\u201d digital short went viral, attracting millions of YouTube viewers in three days, NBC executives knew they had to respond. The answer was a joint venture investment in Hulu, which provides free online access to content, including NBC shows. The move was controversial and widely opposed within NBC, but necessary, Zucker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t put your head in the sand. You can\u2019t deny this is the way people are consuming content,\u201d he said. \u201cDigital distribution, and protecting our intellectual property along with that, is the single biggest issue going on today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zucker is scheduled to leave his post after U.S. regulatory approval of Comcast\u2019s purchase of 51 percent of NBC Universal, which now has $16 billion in annual revenue from its broadcast and cable networks, theme parks and digital media.<\/p>\n

In a nod to his hometown, Zucker shared memories of FIU\u2019s start as a small campus where he took his first courses in the then-new field of computer programming.<\/p>\n

\u201cI give a lot of talks and speeches, but this is the first time my mom and dad could come out to hear me,\u201d he told the audience, with Matthew and Arline Zucker sitting near the front. \u201cI am very proud to have grown up in Miami.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Herbert A. Wertheim Lecture Series has brought distinguished speakers and experts in business leadership and entrepreneurship to FIU since 1993.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Annabelle Rojas, assistant dean, advancement, alumni and corporate relations; Zucker; and FIU President Emeritus Modesto A. Maidique<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At a reception following his talk, Zucker answered dozens of students\u2019 questions on taking career risks, digital media ventures, and environmental stewardship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat an incredible opportunity for business students to probe the mind of someone at his level,\u201d said Roldan Torres-Moure<\/strong> (BBA\u201985), who attended the talk. \u201cIt\u2019s a goldmine of information that you just can\u2019t get from books.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jeff Zucker, a Miami public school graduate who rose to the CEO\u2019s office at NBC Universal, told an audience of Florida International University (FIU) students, faculty and alumni that taking risks—and accepting responsibility—were the foundations of his success in business. \u201cThink about the status quo and question the business models in place each step of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":25947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1093,1405,1927],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10448"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10448"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25948,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10448\/revisions\/25948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}