Working at Nevion – Q&A with Olivier Suard
Meet Olivier Suard, Vice President of Marketing at Nevion.
We’re back with our first ‘Q&A with the Architects’ of 2025. In this edition, we spoke with Olivier Suard, who joined Nevion at the end of 2013, with no prior experience in broadcasting. In this blog, Olivier discusses how he soon found his feet in the industry, and how central people are to his experience of working for Nevion.
What attracted you to join Nevion as part of your career journey and what is your role there now?
If I am honest, I knew nothing about Nevion or indeed the broadcast industry until I was approached by an executive at the company, with whom I had worked in the past. At that time, I had been in the telecoms industry for a few years, so aside from having the opportunity to work with someone I respected and appreciated, I liked the idea of learning about a new industry. That’s how I ended up becoming the head of marketing for Nevion, a decade ago.
How has your role progressed whilst you’ve been at Nevion?
Obviously when I started, I faced a steep learning curve, especially in relation to acronyms! At the same time, there was a lot I could leverage from my past – not least my knowledge of IP and IT technologies.
When I joined, there was much to do from a marketing perspective on all levels, including strategy, vision, messaging, branding, website, contents, lead generation, etc. The team I inherited was very small, but very dedicated and hard-working so we soon made an impact. I really believe we punched well above our weight.
Since the acquisition of Nevion by Sony, my role has evolved quite a bit, as Sony’s regional entities are responsible for the customer outreach. The Nevion marketing team is now responsible for the global marketing of Nevion’s offering, including supporting the Sony’s regions to sell in their markets. I am now also much more involved in a global role within Sony centered around Networked Live.
What three words would you use to describe Nevion?
The first word I would use is “fun”. This may sound frivolous and unserious, but it is my firm belief that fun is a vital component of work. It encompasses amongst others creativity, exploration, construction, and team bonding – all of which are key in the knowledge industry. The second word would be “expertise”. Nevion is full of brilliant people – all experts in their own fields and roles. The third word would be “can-do attitude”. I realize that I am stretching the definition of what is a word, but there is no better way to describe the fact that at every level in the organization, there is a willingness to make things happen, even when it seems close to impossible.
What interested you about working in the broadcast industry?
I did not know much about the broadcast industry before joining, but from the outside it looked like an exciting industry to be part of, especially at a time when the media and entertainment landscape was changing so dramatically. I also liked the idea that finally I could work in an industry my friends and relatives could understand and relate to!
Can you tell us about a project you have worked on during your time at Nevion that you are most proud of?
There have been so many things my team and I have done over the years that I am very proud of, including the expansion of our digital marketing capabilities. Maybe the most memorable though was a major re-imagining of what the company was about, its vision, its positioning and in effect its strategy. One could think of this as a branding exercise, but not of the cliché superficial logo-colors-pictures kind: it was an in-depth rethinking of the company. I believe we managed to create a very distinctive position, which not only made us stand-out from the competition but also created as a renewed focus for the company and brought employees together. The outcome of the project was immensely powerful.
What is your favorite thing about working for Nevion?
It’s simple: the people. Nevion is full of incredibly bright, knowledgeable, and experienced people, who are also modest, fun and helpful. This is not only important for the workplace, but also for our customers who need experts they can trust to transform their live production.
What new technology/ innovation excites you the most in the broadcasting world?
Despite having an engineering background, I think that the business transformation impact of what we do excites me more than any specific technology or innovation. I love hearing from customers how they are leveraging our products, solutions and services to radically change the way they create the compelling live content we all get to enjoy. It’s really exciting that they are able to do things better and more cheaply, while also having a positive impact on the sustainability aspects of their business.
