How to Prepare for a Meeting With the President of Discovery
As a rising sophomore, there’s really no way to prepare for a meeting with the President of Discovery. Richard Ross, President of The Discovery Channel, and Avis Richards, CEO of Birds Nest, met on vacation a few years back, and instantly became good friends given both of their interests in social entrepreneurship.
That being said, Avis arranged for Richard Ross to talk to her interns, one week before Discovery’s infamous Shark Week and midst talks of The Food Network merging with Discovery.
What does someone study to become the President of one of the largest television and media companies? Well, Richard majored in English and then passed the BAR exam in New York State. But, he hated working as a lawyer and was seeking work that was much more creative and meaningful.
After a few months of floating around, Richard joined a small company called Nickelodeon, starting at the bottom but quickly moving his way up the ladder. Followed by his career at Nickelodeon, Richard moved on to FOX and HBO, utilizing livestream technology and creating content that he describes as being “ahead of its time”.
Disney channel, one of the most popular companies worldwide, was Richards next employer. Producing movies, television shows and radio stations, many of which I’m sure we have all watched, gave Richard the needed experience in 5+ million dollar budgets for big business production.
Eventually it was time to move on from Disney, marking the beginning of Richard’s career at Discovery.