Strategy and execution in the media, digital and edtech spaces
Strategy for decision-makers
Based in London and operating internationally, Mediaator helps businesses, Governments and financial institutions make and deliver major decisions about direction and growth.
At Mediaator, we bring to bear the skills and experience gained from conducting media, digital, hybrid and multi-play projects for around 100 clients across five continents.
And, we’ve stood in your shoes. Our principals have held C-Suite or CEO-reporting roles across a range of TMT-based corporates, set up high-profile national infrastructure schemes, founded multi-million dollar start-ups, as well as having led TMT-practices at major consultancies and investment banks.
Which means that while the strategies we recommend may be ambitious, they are made in the knowledge of what it will take to see them through to fruition.
Consulting for every stage
Our principals have helped clients on projects ranging from a week through to 10+ consultant-strong, multi-discipline, multi-year engagements.
Unlike other consultancies, we can support you with as little as a few days of Partner-level help - for example, to act as an expert soundboard or advise on a specific decision.
At the other end of the spectrum, we can tackle large-scale strategic and operational engagements often bringing on and managing trusted specialists and partners that share our DNA - our values, standards and methodologies.
Venturing risk
If you need support creating a new venture, we can occasionally invest a substantial proportion of our fees alongside you.
By doing this, we can address opportunities that other leading advisory houses cannot service. For instance, providing launch support, deal-based partnership or transactional support through a success fee, revenue-share or equity position.
For institutionally or family-office backed ventures, our co-investment support ranges from proposition development through to partnerships and interim management.
Clear vision, considered strategy, and decisive execution
Areas of expertise
Strategy
When things are running fast, it is imperative that you know the what and why of what you’re doing.
We can help if you are looking to:
Define, plan or create a new service or business
Review what you are doing and determine what to do next; or
Turnaround or pivot a platform, service, business or channel
In these situations, we can bring a full complement of strategy consulting services to bear including strategic reviews, proposition development, business plans, business modelling, due diligence, transaction support and implementation planning.
Partnerships
Whether as a means to ensure distribution, content, finance or a complete customer proposition, today’s media market is characterised by partnerships.
Ranging from national consortia development, partner identification and through to local JV negotiation, our team has a track record in partnerships.
We can support you throughout the partnership process including:
Needs and requirements determination
Internal and partner business cases
Partner identification, approach, evaluation and diligence
Negotiation and deal structure
Ongoing monitoring and arbitration
Ventures
In addition to its consulting experience, our team has deep experience as executives in the development of corporate and private ventures. We offer that experience to our clients with support ranging from visioning and proposition development through to product creation and fundraising.
And it’s not all talk. Our leadership 50:50 co-founded EdTech start-up, BoClips, that sold for high 8-figures and created HRTech start-up, Sixley, which is in partnership with global telco, BT.
Our team’s past ventures include:
Early stage tech start-ups in EdTech, media and SaaS
National digital schemes including fibre-to-the-home and free-to-air digital television
Television channels, distributor and platform development
Expertise, experience and leadership
Paul Naha-Biswas
Managing Director
Paul is a leading international strategist to the media and digital industries with 20+ years of experience tackling issues ranging from new channel, service and platform launches and industry-wide collaborations to M&A and financing.
He started his career at Telecoms, Media and Technology specialists, Spectrum Strategy Consultants, before taking senior leadership roles as the Head of the Media Practice at Alvarez & Marsal, Co-Head of ITN Consulting and a Board Director of Asia-based ITN Venture Consulting.
In his consulting roles, he has advised around 100 major clients from 5 continents.
Aside from consulting, Paul is a Founder of two tech start-ups including BoClips that was recently acquired for high 8-figures by US private equity. He has held CEO-reporting roles at FremantleMedia, ITN and TVNZ and previously headed up the television division for New Zealand’s national fibre plan.
Paul also runs the Business of Media sessions at the Ivy Club - an invite-only panel series for London’s senior media leadership community.
He holds an MA in Economics from the University of Cambridge.
Richard Jones
Director
With 25 years experience in equity research, Richard is a leading analyst in the Consumer and Telecoms, Media and Technology sectors.
A former Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, Richard headed its European Telecoms, Media & Technology Research unit and co-headed the Consumer Business Unit where he oversaw 9 different sector teams and over 40 analysts.
In 2015, Richard became a Founding Partner at Tower House Partners, a Long/Short Equity Fund, which grew to almost $1bn in AUM. In addition to leading the Telecoms, Media and Technology sectors, he developed and oversaw the research process across the firm, and was a key member of the Investment Committee.
Richard’s specialisms include advertising agencies, television, music and content companies as well as telecoms, education, publishing, e-commerce and marketplaces.
Prior to Goldman Sachs and Tower House, Richard was an equity analyst at UBS and Lehman Brothers where he covered the European TMT sector.
He holds an MA in Economics from the University of Cambridge.
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Fred Martenson
Associate Principal
A former Controller of Strategy at ITV and Head of Strategy at BBC Global News, Fred specialises in news, television and digital media strategy.
Having started his consulting career at Spectrum Strategy Consultants, he has since worked with a number of leading consultancies including ITN Consulting and Alvarez & Marsal.
He holds a BA in Political Science and International Studies from Yale and an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge.
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Conrad Roeber
Associate Principal
Conrad is an international strategist to the media, telecommunications and digital sectors.
Since starting his consulting career at Booz Allen & Hamilton, he has been a Partner or Principal at a number of leading TMT consultancies including Spectrum Strategy Consultants, ITN Consulting, Mediatique and Redshift.
He holds an MA in Philosophy from Edinburgh University and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
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Tim Jacks
Associate Principal
Tim has 15+ years of experience in advising media, telecommunications and digital companies.
Having started his career at media strategists, Mediatique, he has since worked at TMT specialists, Greenwich Consulting and ITN Consulting. His most recent role was as a Principal at Cartesian where he led the international strategy practice.
He holds a First Class degree in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Cambridge.
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Louise Prideaux
Associate
Louise has 10 years of strategy and planning experience in the media and digital industries.
Since started her consulting career at TMT specialists, ITN Consulting, she has held strategy roles in consultancies, corporates and start-ups. Her most recent role was Strategy & Planning Manager at Condé Nast.
She holds a BA in European Studies with French and Italian from the University of Bath.
