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After joining the board of ITV, setting up her own company and serving as SVP in charge of International Sales at media giant Viacom, Cally has also started a parallel career in comedy. She brings humour and energy to workplace insights ranging from how to foster a creative, positive environment to how to inspire and lead through change.
Cally Beaton is a media executive, entrepreneur, and performer. At the start of her career, she headed an independent television production company that was bought by ITV. She joined the board of the UK’s main commercial broadcaster as both the youngest, and the only woman member (and for a while sat alongside David Cameron). She left ITV to start a creative consultancy and production company as well as joining US studio giant ViacomCBS as Senior Vice President of International Sales.
At ViacomCBS, Cally oversaw a £500 million budget for channels including Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount; if you want someone to blame for bringing South Park and Spongebob Squarepants to the world, you need look no further. Responsible for selling programmes and formats around the world, she combined working with on-screen and production talent with business planning and strategy, bridging the divide between creative and financial priorities - until a chance conversation with the legendary comedian Joan Rivers changed her life.
It was whilst working on Comedy Central that Cally developed her other life as a stand-up comedian. Despite joining the circuit after already establishing an impressive corporate career, the move has seen her perform at clubs around the country, front her own show at the Edinburgh Fringe, and appear as a guest on QI, The Apprentice You’re Fired, and on Radio 4’s The Museum of Curiosity.
On her podcast Namaste Motherf**kers, the worlds of comedy, self-help and business collide. With the help of celebrity guests and experts, Cally gets to the stories you’ve never heard before – uncovering not your normal life lessons, but some big ones, nonetheless.
Bringing humour and energy to her business insight, Cally considers the nature of the workplace and leadership culture. She looks at how to engender change (both personal and organisational), inspire teams and develop a positive, agile, and inclusive environment. She also tackles the working priorities and expectations of the so-called millennial generation and reveals how to be creative whilst keeping an eye on the bottom line. Her personality, love of performance and business knowledge has also seen her coach and train senior figures from a range of industries.
