Ben Roberts-Smith takes on new battle: Managing a TV network
HE HAS been decorated for fearless feats on the harshest battlefields, but Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith says there is one thing that truly scares him.
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HE HAS been decorated for his fearless feats on the harshest battlefields, but Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith is about to take on a new challenge he admits is “frightening”.
The star former member of the elite Special Air Service has made a remarkable career change, entering the cutthroat and competitive world of television management.
Roberts-Smith has been appointed deputy general manager of Seven Queensland, where he will have responsibility for all aspects of the network, including sales, production and marketing.
Despite having displayed extraordinary bravery in war zones, Roberts-Smith admits to feeling nervous due to his lack of experience in the industry.
“I had 20 years in the army, but in some regards this is frightening because back there I had experience. I mean, you don’t know what you don’t know,” he said.
“But like any job, I plan to work hard, try to prove myself and move up.”
Queensland general manager Neil Mooney saw Robert-Smith’s potential when he conducted leadership seminars for the station, and offered him the job.
After just completing his Masters of Business Administration, Roberts-Smith said a career in TV management “hadn’t crossed my mind”, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
He said he was particularly attracted by the dynamic nature of breaking news.
“It’s a terrific job that gives me a great exposure to a broad spectrum of things at the macro level, and it’s clearly a good option to transition up,” he said.
Roberts-Smith is in Gallipoli this week as part of Channel Seven’s coverage of the Anzac centenary.
He hosted his own big-budget two-part Gallipoli special for Sunday Night this month and can be seen on the station semi-regularly, but he said he was happy to be stepping away from the cameras.
After completing two tours of East Timor, Roberts-Smith distinguished himself as an SAS fighter during the war in Afghanistan.
He was awarded the Medal for Gallantry for his actions as a patrol scout and sniper during Operation Slipper, but his most courageous act came during his fifth tour of Afghanistan in 2010.
During the hunt for a senior Taliban commander, Roberts-Smith deliberately exposed his position to the enemy and drew heavy gunfire in order to protect his fellow patrol members.
Locked in a fierce, close-range exchange of bullets, Roberts-Smith valiantly stormed two enemy machinegun posts and killed the insurgents.
He was awarded a Victoria Cross for “demonstrating extreme devotion to duty and the most conspicuous gallantry … with a total disregard for his own safety”.
He will start his new role in earnest when he returns to Australia.
Originally published as Ben Roberts-Smith takes on new battle: Managing a TV network
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