It is a bit unlikely for someone who majored in and started his career in marketing to switch careers to hard numbers, but MFM Board member Dan Gallagher of Sinclair made the transition so successfully that he is now Sinclair’s Vice President and Operations Controller. In this Office Hours segment with regular contributor John Sanders of Bond & Pecaro, Gallagher shares the factors that guided his career and the priorities he has for the MFM Board.
On the front line in the increasingly competitive and complex media and entertainment industry, Gallagher and his colleagues help Sinclair face issues like fragmented viewership and evolving reporting requirements. One key factor to the financial group’s success is “a team that’s agile and able to respond to challenges really quickly, from learning new ways to account for revenue streams and setting up processes so you’re able to respond very quickly.” With these challenges comes personal growth: “It gives people an opportunity to do things they wouldn’t otherwise have the visibility into,” he says. “While it’s a challenging industry, I also think it’s a really exciting industry because of that.”
Gallagher shares the importance of mentors like his boss, Dave Bochenek, longtime MFM member and former Chair of the MFM Board, who encouraged him to get more involved with the association and to join the board. He also reveals how healthy self-advocacy, building industry friendships, team building, and taking the time to give back to the community can underpin a successful career in media finance as well as a healthy future for MFM.
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