Cream of the Crop From base camp to career summit by Marc-Yannick Ceyton Early travel experiences still influence leading executive Todd Miller's ascent to the role of senior vice president and managing director of Sony Pictures Asia can certainly be described as meteoric. Over the last 10 years or so, he has moved swiftly and surely up the organisation and in many ways could be mistaken for the archetypal corporate executive. Appearances can be deceptive, however, and Mr Miller's climb to the top of the business world can be traced not to years in film school or as a management trainee, but to an inspirational trip he once made to Everest Base Camp. That came during his first visit to Asia and helped to open his eyes to a new world of opportunities that, ultimately, caused him to take a career path which he would never have thought possible. In this "first life", he moved on from Nepal to Indochina, where he found a position teaching English. Realising that this was not his true calling, but that he did want to continue working in Asia, he returned home to the US and took an MBA at Columbia Business School. With this, he was soon able to pin down a job with Star TV, where he cut his teeth, before moving on to CNN and then to Sony in 1994. He began with them as sales manager and now has responsibility for managing, coordinating, licensing, network operations and local language productions for the region. Action station Finding a bit of fun at work has always been Mr Miller's motto As a self-confessed workaholic, he was more than happy to take on the challenge in 1997 of running AXN, the first 24-hour cable and satellite TV channel exclusively dedicated to action and adventure programming. At the time, Asia's pay television industry was in its infancy, and Mr Miller's energy and infectious enthusiasm were just what were needed to get things off the ground. The station proved to be a resounding success, and he still lists it among his proudest achievements. "I revelled in the business development and operational challenges of a channel that, within a year, reached 15 million Asian homes, despite the economic turmoil of the time," he says. As confirmation of AXN's success, it is now seen around the world and is regarded as one of the best things to come out of the pay television industry. The subsequent launch of Animax, a channel concentrating on animation, was similarly successful and helped to revolutionise another genre. Embrace life and enjoy the challenge When Mr Miller took on his current role of managing director in 2004, he had no intention of resting on his laurels. In fact, he is looking to lead the industry into a renewed period of growth and his long-term vision includes a "micro segmentation of audiences with a channel for everyone". This would mirror the development of the print media and allow the complete customisation of content. Working with regional offices in Beijing and Singapore, Mr Miller is now dedicated to developing a new wave of entertainment, which will involve creating and investing in more Chinese content. Sony also sees the production of local content as an important role and a way for the company to help in revitalising the industry. Parental inspiration Following the print media comes naturally to Mr Miller who was "born with ink on his hands". His father is a newspaper publisher who has passed on a love for the media and has also proved an inspiration by always demonstrating a "love of his work and a sense of fun". Having recently adopted an infant from Indonesia, he will no doubt aim to pass on these values in the years ahead but, in the meantime, is learning that "an agitated infant can be very humbling". Embrace life and enjoy the challenge Despite being more restricted in his movements than before, Mr Miller has an ongoing love of travel and has gained ideas and many valuable lessons from his extensive trips to far-flung parts of the world. Perhaps unconsciously, he allows these to guide him in his everyday life and finds that memories of trekking through the untouched vastness of Patagonia or drifting slowly down the Mekong River "leave you with life shaping experiences". While the time for such trips is no longer so easy to find, Mr Miller says that he also has "great passion for the business". Even when dealing with all the usual pressures, he is still able to have fun at work and makes sure to have an active and balanced life away from the office, which helps him to maintain a perspective. In an environment where executives are well known for their intensity, he has realised that if you are working in the entertainment business, there is nothing wrong with having a few laughs along the way. Milestones 2004 Appointed senior vice president and managing director of SPTI Asia 2000 Became managing director of AXN Asia 1997 Appointed vice president of Columbia Tristar Intl TV's Asia's sales department 1994 Completed an MBA with Columbia Business School and became sales manager of Columbia Tristar Intl TV Asia Taken from Career Times 19 August 2005 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]