Former Paramount Studios Leader Offers MBA Students a Deep Dive Into Entertainment Marketing
Distinguished entertainment industry leader, Steve Siskind, shared his valuable insights from his decade experience at Paramount Studios to advance the knowledge of Woodbury’s MBA students. Siskind, former President of Worldwide Home Media Marketing & President Domestic Theatrical Marketing, brought a wealth of experience to the classroom by discussing various strategies and partnerships to market theatrical releases and by addressing the current and future landscape of the entertainment industry.
Tapping into his successful background with working on Academy Award®-nominated films such as Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” and Ava DuVernay’s “Selma,” Siskind delivered a compelling presentation focused on giving students a behind-the-scenes look into how the major studios make executive decisions to develop, promote and release movies.
Associate Professor Dr. Theresa Billiot said, “The School of Business focuses on bridging academia with the industry to develop quality MBA graduates. Siskind made our students think much deeper, and he made them look at course concepts in a new way.”
And for MBA student Gurpreet Virdi, 27, it was a great honor to have Siskind as a special guest speaker at Woodbury. “Mr. Steve Siskind’s willingness to share his insights and experiences with us was exhilarating,” she said. “His fascinating stories were inspiring and encouraging. He told us to show kindness, boldness, and passion, whether it be in our careers or life.”
Luckily, Siskind had a positive impression of Woodbury’s MBA students and said, “Really enjoyed the time with Dr. Billiot and her class. The students are knowledgeable, curious and ask spot-on questions in their quest to understand content and marketer’s role in entertainment today. Recommend stopping by and benefiting from this class atmosphere and the straightforward feedback of confident articulate business mind.”
Siskind’s impressive career with launching and sustaining film franchises such as “Indiana Jones,” “Star Trek,” “Transformers” and “Iron Man” motivated MBA students to continually advance their knowledge and apply their learning in practical environments.
“I always think about ways to elevate my courses,” Billiot said. “Mr. Siskind was the perfect fit because of his remarkable professional journey and his passion for entertainment marketing. Students were extremely stimulated.”