CEO MONTHLY / MOST INFLUENTIAL CEO AWARDS 2023 91 CEO MONTHLY / ISSUE 5 2023 31 Adaptive and Creative Rondo Media (Rondo) is an independent media company based in Wales, providing a diverse range of high-quality content for various broadcasters. Below, we talk a little more about the company and understand what makes the CEO, Gareth Williams tick, as he earns the award of Most Influential Broadcasting & Media Production CEO 2023 – UK. Rondo Media’s services include producing sports, drama, music, events, factual, and entertainment content. It has several prominent productions, including the S4C football strand Sgorio, the twiceweekly drama series Rownd a Rownd, the factual series Cynefin and Dechrau Canu, Dechrau Canmol, and music and event productions. The company has a strong reputation in Wales, and in 2023, it broadcast the landmark series Stori’r Iaith, examining the history and development of the Welsh language and BBC documentary Wrexham: Hollywood or Bust. Rondo Media has permanent offices in Caernarfon, Cardiff, and Menai Bridge on Anglesey and works with international distributors such as BBC Studios, Cineflix, ITV Studios, and Silverlining. Rondo Media’s core values include creativity, quality, loyalty, trust, dependability, risk-taking, and thinking differently. These values have helped the company to survive and adapt. Rondo Media has diversified its services and invested in post-production facilities and staff, studio and outside broadcast facilities, and new drama studio facility Aria, which attracted investments from S4C’s Commercial arm and the Welsh Government’s Creative Wales. The company’s board provides leadership, sets the strategy, ensures that the resources are available, reviews management performance, and meets obligations to shareholders and other stakeholders. It values progression and succession, and its staff have opportunities to progress in their careers. One of the very first appointments in 2008 is now the Executive Producer of Rondo Media’s sports output and sits on Rondo’s board as one of the company directors. Regarding the leadership style at Rondo, it is collaborative, inclusive and involves listening to people. Gareth has become more experienced and confident and benefitted from a period of working as the Chair of TAC from 2018 to 2021, representing the sector in discussions with broadcasters, government consultations on the future of public service broadcasting, and the potential change of ownership and future remit of Channel 4. The experience has evolved the CEO’s leadership style, built around these principles. Furthermore, Gareth’s leadership style has evolved through his experiences working with various companies and holding leadership positions. Gareth is also one of the directors of Yeti Television – which as part of the Rondo Media group, became the first ever Welsh based business to secure investment from Channel 4’s Growth Fund in 2020. His approach is built around several fundamental principles prioritising listening to people, keeping a sense of perspective, and communicating effectively with others. He believes in making himself available to others and listening to their input before making decisions. He also values face-to-face communication over relying solely on digital communication methods. Another critical aspect of CEO Gareth’s leadership style is his willingness to have difficult conversations and to deliver bad news when necessary. He trusts in people and doesn’t take anyone for granted while supporting and learning from his competitors. He greatly values the management team and acknowledges the key roles played by the company’s Finance Director, Commercial Director, Head of Personnel, Executive and Series Producers. When addressing his team, Gareth emphasises the importance of knowing and valuing his staff, conducting performance reviews, and rewarding the winning of new work. He also believes that having interests outside work is vital to maintain a fresh perspective and not be overly risk-averse. Finally, Gareth recognises the importance of staying adaptable and creative and avoiding rigid structures that may stifle creativity. He prioritises the company’s quality of services while valuing the people he employs. Gareth and his team at Rondo Media work with various clients, including broadcasters, distributors and rights holders. Their selling point is their ability to consistently deliver highquality, returnable content. Not only this, but Rondo is also known for its independence as a production company and were featured in Broadcast Magazine’s top 30 True Indies list. The team’s ability to produce multi-genre content sets them apart from many of their competitors. As a result, they have made some of the most well-established and longest-running brands in Wales, such as Sgorio and Rownd a Rownd. Sgorio is known for branching out to produce digital content across multiple platforms, including podcasts and broadcasts on Facebook Live and YouTube, which has helped it to reach large audiences across the UK and beyond. Rownd a Rownd is a significant employer in North Wales, offering fixed-term and freelance work to around 150 people. The series has also enabled and developed critical skills, from acting to design, camera to costume and makeup, and sound recording to editing. Ultimately, Rondo Media is a well-established independent media company in Wales that provides a diverse range of high-quality content for various broadcasters. Thanks to its core values and Gareth’s outstanding leadership, it continues to adapt and thrive – and the future is looking very promising indeed. The company is absolutely delighted to be working on a new initiative with Boom Cymru as part of its Media Cymru programme partnership. This is a new project to support and develop opportunities and progression in the industry for people from diverse and currently underrepresented socio-economic backgrounds. Rondo Media is also hugely enthused by a new training development at Aria studios in Anglesey and working with key partners including Bangor University, the University of South Wales, and Screen Alliance Wales to offer valuable industry training, opportunities, and experience in the region. Additionally, Rondo will shortly be announcing a new international factual co-production series and will start producing a new drama series. It’s an exciting time to be in a business based in the nations and regions! Contact: Gareth Williams Company: Rondo Media Email: [email protected] Web: rondomedia.co.uk Mar23326
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