SPANNING a career that has seen him rise to the top as an executive, entrepreneur, TV personality, professional sports team owner and bestselling author, this Academy award-winning producer has certainly worked his “M-A-G-I-C” in his over 40 years of experience in the corporate big leagues.
“In sports, we are led to believe that a player on a streak has a ‘hot hand,’” said Peter Guber, Chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group and co-owner of NBA team Golden State Warriors during ANC’s Leadership Series at a teeming Grand Ballroom of the posh Sofitel Philippine Plaza Tuesday.
“There’s no such thing as a hot hand,” he said next to the slew of businessmen, young professionals, industry leaders and political heads present at the third leadership forum presented by the country’s first 24-hour news network.
He further explained in his “Telling Stories, Winning Games” talk, that success is a result of the constant effort to perfect one’s craft, noting that behind every bit of success is failure. And that there is a thin line separating the two which could spell the difference in any endeavor, adding the importance of “MAGIC” in leadership- his extra special secret sauce to success.
“MAGIC stands for Motivating one’s Audience through Goals, Interactivity, and Content,” said Guber who was also Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment as well as Polygram Entertainment, Co-Founder of Casablanca Record & Filmworks and President of Columbia Pictures.
The 76-year-old UCLA professor and co-owner of sports teams Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Football Club, spoke about his astounding career and engaged with audience queries for more than an hour. He is the third speaker of the ANC Leadership Forum in as many years, after Virgin Group chairman and founder Richard Branson in 2016 and former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 2017.
Moreover, Guber produced or executive-produced (personally or through his companies) films that garnered five Best Picture Academy Award nominations (winning for Rain Man) and box office hits that include The Color Purple, Midnight Express, Batman, Flashdance, The Kids Are All Right, and Soul Surfer.
In 2010, Guber and partner Joe Lacob were the driving forces behind the ownership group’s NBA bid to purchase the Warriors. Five years later in 2015, the Warriors captured the organization’s first NBA Championship in 40 years to culminate the most successful three-year run in franchise history. In 2017, the Golden State Warriors won their second NBA Championship in three years.
Guber, a Regent of the University of California, is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Tell to Win, Connect Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story. Currently, he is likewise Co-Chairman of aXiomatic, an esports and gaming company, owner of Team Liquid, a premier esports organization, and is Chairman of the Advisory Board and an Investor in NextVR. He is estimated to be worth $800 million.
The ANC Leadership Series is part of the country’s premier all-English cable news channel’s efforts to raise the level of discourse on global affairs and business issues in the country by bringing renowned international speakers for a one-day speaking engagement.