Name: Tom Horton
Title: Director of TV & Radio
Company: TfG (The Facilities Group)
Location: London
A brief explanation of your company and where it sits in the corporate landscape: TfG is a group of 10 companies that provide a full range of MARCOM production services to advertising companies and clients direct.
It has 250 employees and a £30 million turnover.
We are 70 per cent owned by the Publicis/Saatchi & Saatchi network and 30 per cent by Cordiant.
Job last held in Perth (company name and your title there) and when you left it: Promo Director at GWN in Bunbury.
It was my first job straight out of university in 1989.
I stayed on for one year exactly and then moved to Sydney.
What is your current role: At a group level I am responsible for the TV and radio companies at TfG that include VERMILION a commercial film company, SHELL LIKE a radio production company and TRIANGLE a post production company.
Day-to-day I am the managing director of the post production company Triangle (checkout www.triangletelevision.co.uk).
What other roles do you play in your industry or local business community: In the industry I am often asked to sit on industry panels.
I talk at a couple of conferences each year.
Locally not much.
Explain how you got this particular job: A friend called me at work during lunchtime and asked me if I could pop down to the pub across the road for a chat.
Over a beer he told me he had recommended me for the job and if I was interested he would call the CEO then and there to get the ball rolling. The rest is history.
Outline your office culture: Very laid back, and hands-on. A real team atmosphere. If a runner comes up with a good idea when we are working on a difficult creative brief we use it.
As we work on predominantly TV commercials and music videos our client base is very creatively focused.
The office is more like my lounge room than an office.
How much commuting do you do: One hour in and one hour out.
Does your job involve travel, if so how much, where to and to what purpose: Most of the entertainment industry is in a couple of blocks in London called Soho.
I do go to conferences in France (Cannes), Ireland and sometimes Spain and the odd meeting with a European client.
The latter are usually day trips.
How well did your work in Perth equip you for your current job: It got me started.
Can you see yourself returning to Perth, if so how long and under what circumstances: If I end up focussing on longform program work I could settle there for periods of times to write, however, for actual production it is too far away from the main pools of international talent. So no.
What is your email address: thorton@tfg.uk.com