Forget business school - this week's episode of Here Comes Pod is an education in how to run a massive organisation. Etienne de Villiers joined me to discuss a career spent at world famous media and sports operations like The Walt Disney Company, the ATP and the IPL, with some fascinating insights and stories from the front line.Born in apartheid-era South Africa, Etienne's early career included working for the legendary Sol Kerzner at Satbel and negotiating with FW de Klerk to desegregate cinemas in South Africa. He then moved to Disney to manage the international TV operation, which grew from $15m to $1bn in annual turnover during his tenure. Senior roles at the BBC and ITV followed but we focussed on his experience in professional sports, including the challenges he faced as chairman of the ATP and his work with old business partner Lalit Modi in bringing the IPL to South Africa.  If you want to know the key to success at Disney as it built its international business in the 1990s, how and why the IPL is a unique phenomenon that is so hard to replicate, and how Paul Simon discovered diamonds in a South African recording studio as well as on the soles of his shoes, listen on and enjoy!You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

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