Working at Nevion – Q&A with Fil Soares

Meet Fil Soares, VP of Sales – Europe & UK at Nevion, based in the UK

Our ‘Q&A with the Architects’ series has returned for 2024! We recently had a chat with Filipe Soares about his experience at Nevion since joining us in 2011. He discusses how he’s been supported in helping to achieve his career ambitions since the day he started, the project he’s most proud of and his excitement around the potential of 5G in the broadcasting sector.

What attracted you to join Nevion as part of your career journey and what is your role there now?

In 2011 when I joined the business, I noticed right away that Nevion was very forward thinking when it came to how IP was going to help broadcasters move beyond the limitations of SDI, optimize their workflows and better utilize their resources, which is something I found really interesting. The company was also very focused on the customer experience instead of only being interested the bottom line, which was a huge difference and welcome change to what I’d experienced earlier in my career. Now, in my current role is VP of Sales for Europe and the UK, I manage the team that is responsible for driving customer satisfaction and all of our revenue across that region.

How has your role progressed whilst you’ve been at Nevion?

Before the acquisition of Nevion by Sony, I’ve had various sales roles across Europe, and later had the opportunity to manage the sales team in Europe and the Middle East. Now my focus has shifted slightly to be just on the UK and Europe. My journey towards management has definitely been helped by the fact that Nevion is keen to listen and hear our ideas, especially if we’ve expressed an interest in taking on more responsibility. I think it’s one of the many reasons why we have such a low churn rate. In fact, of all the new hires I’ve brought in, I’ve never had any of them leave!

What three words would you use to describe Nevion?

The first word is ‘family’, because everyone here wants to help and support each other to achieve their goals. I then think the second word, ‘fairness’, is very relevant because if anyone feels that they’re not being treated in the right way, their managers will listen and actually do something about it. Everyone has a voice. The third word, ‘innovative’, sums up how forward-leaning we are in terms of technology, with a clear focus on using the latest solutions to deliver improved outcomes for our customers.

What interested you about working in the broadcast industry?

My studies were in electrical engineering, and after that, I actually applied for a role with one of Nevion’s competitors. Once I was in the industry, I noticed how technology was evolving, and that there were so many exciting opportunities to be involved in large projects that were attracting millions of viewers. Later in my career, I then moved into sales because I wanted to get out and speak to people about what’s happening in the market, with Nevion’s focus on customer engagement making it the perfect fit for me.

Can you tell us about a project you have worked on during your time at Nevion that you are most proud of?

One project that we worked on was with a company in Switzerland. They had some really ambitious ideas, which was great, but actually, we had to be open and say that they were a little too ambitious for where they were at. The customer appreciated our honesty and leant on our expertise so we could tweak the project to ensure success. It actually transpired to be the biggest software sale we’d achieved globally at the time, so that was a really proud moment.

What is your favorite thing about working for Nevion?

We have such a good group of people here. Everyone is willing to go that extra mile to make sure that any business priorities are their own priorities as well. Even after our acquisition by Sony, we’ve maintained that startup mentality where everyone takes on responsibility for everything and shares the load. It definitely goes back to that idea where everyone is part of the same family, so helping each other comes naturally.

What new technology/ innovation excites you the most in the broadcasting world?

There’s a lot of anticipation and hype about what 5G and the cloud can bring to the broadcast and telecoms sectors, whether it’s workflow optimizations, cost reductions or other value-add benefits. Alongside this exciting development, we’re also looking at how we can complement our core competencies such as orchestration, software defined networking and signal transport by supporting the broadcast control market as well. It’s giving our customers more options and opportunities to evolve which is definitely exciting.