CAREERS: Q&A with ... Greg Hayes, ESPN Star Sports

<p>Job title: Senior vice-president, advertising sales and multimedia ventures, ESPN Star Sports </p><p>What is your greatest achievement? </p><p>Bungee jumping off a helicopter. I had a fear of heights, but this crazy activity solved the problem. Since then I have done abseiling and eventually went on to gain a private pilot's licence. </p><p>Dream brand to work on and why? </p><p>FIFA World Cup, as it's the biggest sporting event. There are a lot of opportunities in various parts of the world to raise its awareness level and to make it even more successful. </p><p>What if you weren't in marketing? </p><p>I'd be a ski instructor. Skiing has always been my favourite sport and quite some time ago, I was a qualified instructor. I travelled to South America each year to ski in the Andes Mountains and enjoyed being in such an amazing environment. Teaching people was also a plus. </p><p>What was your big break? </p><p>Leaving Australia and working in the US, England, New Zealand, South America and now Asia. This experience has given me an excellent international perspective and one that has served me well in dealing with different cultures and practices. </p><p>Who was your mentor? </p><p>I didn't really have a mentor, but I did admire some of the characteristics of the leadership of General George Patton, such as never give up and always have another option to make things work and be successful. </p><p>Name: Greg Hayes </p><p>Is there a secret to your success? </p><p>Lots of working hours. You just can't get away from that in today's environment. </p><p>How do you handle difficult clients? </p><p>One needs to separate emotion from logic and concentrate on the real deliverables that add customer value. Then, one can easily turn what may appear to be a difficult situation into something relatively straightfoward. </p><p>Advice to the next person in this job? </p><p>Be totally client-focused. </p><p>What are you currently reading? </p><p>Anthony Robbins' Personal Power. </p><p>Business person you admire? </p><p>Rupert Murdoch, of course. </p>