SENIOR/EXECUTIVE – This spotlight series features T. Howard Foundation (THF) alumni working in Senior or Executive roles.
Veronika Moroian (THF ’02) is currently an executive at Univision Communications, the leading Hispanic media company in the U.S. Veronika was an MBA student attending UCLA Anderson School of Management when she secured her THF internship at DirecTV. Veronika, who is also the recipient of the Foundation’s Scott Weiss Scholarship, began her post-MBA career at Univision in 2003 and has continued to make waves in the media & entertainment industry ever since.
We recently connected with Veronika to learn more about her current role and experience as an executive in the media industry.
Can you tell us about your role as VP of Business Strategy at Univision?
As Vice President of Business Strategy, I lead our Univision New York team’s business development efforts for our TV and radio stations, digital and social media properties. I also oversee the marketing team in charge of producing positioning tools and sales presentations. In addition, I’m responsible for our operations efficiencies and systems implementation. Last but not least, I do strategic planning through data analysis and competitive intelligence.
What are your major responsibilities and what does a typical day look like for you?
The beauty about my job is that I wear many hats, so every day is different. Doing business development is like being an entrepreneur and running your own business. For marketing, you need to be creative and a good communicator. For operations efficiencies, you need structure and discipline. And for strategic planning, you need to be able to think out of the box and come up with the best business decisions possible based on the data available.
What skills are most essential in your role/a leadership role?
- Inspire, be a motivational coach for my team members.
- Set the vision for my team, to make sure we’re all working towards the same goal.
- Lead by example, no job is too big, no job is too small.
- Be a good communicator and create a culture of open communication.
- Analytical skills: be able to come up with smart decisions based on the information available.
What’s the most difficult part of being a leader?
Here I’d like to quote Jack Welch: “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” The most fulfilling part of being a leader is to see your people grow and know that you contributed to their success. This is also the most difficult part of being a leader: when your mentees start flying on their own and look for new horizons. You feel proud of them, but at the same time they leave an emptiness, so you need to find new mentees, and it becomes a virtuous circle.
What is the most significant change that you brought to the organization?
Data based strategic thinking.
How has your affiliation with T. Howard Foundation influenced your career?
I have a degree in computer science and I used to work at IBM Argentina’s software division. During my MBA at the UCLA Anderson School of Management in Los Angeles, the T. Howard Foundation sponsored my summer internship at Directv. This changed my life as I realized the growth potential of the Hispanic TV business. After graduating from business school, I joined Univision Communications Inc. and have been working in the media industry since then.
Congratulations again to Veronika for her many accomplishments! #THFalumni