CNN's Greg D'Alba: Who Said it Wouldn't Be Fun?

When CNN39s COO Sales ampamp Marketing Greg D39Alba moved to New York from Buffalo in the early 1980s he had one objective to work for Ted Turner and CNN quotI had studied Marshall McLuhan and realized Ted was creating the global village I wanted to be a part of itquot But Greg spent his first year out of college working as a bartender at Guido39s in the Bronx where he quotwas paid enough and took home enough food every Sunday to last a weekquot allowing him to go on job interviews every weekdayWhether it was breaking into the media industry after a year of trying getting an interview and then a job at CNN after several failed efforts shifting gears after injuries forced him to lose his full tuition wrestling scholarship at West Virginia where he was ECAC champion battling and overcoming cancer being a divorced parent of three teens or surpassing aggressive revenue growth goals in the most competitive environment in CNN39s history Greg has constantly battled adversity and won Through it all he has never stopped smiling and is proud quotnot one year has gone by that I wasn39t having fun Fun is a small word with a huge meaning I can39t live without having fun and I think everyone who works with me has fun It39s the foundation of being able to constantly reenergize ourselves and how we do thingsquotAs Greg and I enjoyed our Salad Nicoise and pork loin at Michael39s Katie Couric was clearly having fun with friends and several admirers who stopped by her table Showtime39s Matt Blank traded stories with the permanently jovial Sony CEO Howard Stringer while ad legend Jerry Della Femina hardly cracked a smile and Hearst39s Cathy Black engaged in serious leanforward quiet talk Looking around Greg mused quotwe39re all fortunate to be in an industry we can be passionate about But passion brings happiness and sadness and sometimes we forget the importance of simply discovering the fun in what we39re doingquot When Michael39s manager Steve Millington stopped by the conversation turned quickly to motorcycles and the fun of BMW Euro Tours quotWhen you39re looking for it you can find fun in almost every conversationamp8230 every part of lifequotGreg acknowledges being a cancer survivor gives him a different perspective quotWe haven39t been promised tomorrow and when you39re dealing with something as serious as cancer you learn to make the most of every day I found strengths I didn39t know I had It was a challenge but I was never bummed out for a day When you get caught up in what you39re doing and going at a thousand mileanhour pace remembering the humbling times gives you some perspective Not a day goes by that I don39t walk the halls at work talking to people taking the time to give a pat on the back and a high five asking questions and having some fun with my team You can39t just be passionate about your job and where you work you also need to be passionate about the people you work with and encourage them to have fun every day I really appreciate the warmth of friendships being part of a community and the importance of familyquotGreg told me two stories that personify his approach to his work and family Recently two young sales planners at CNN Christine Rivas and Sylvia Torres approached him for approval to spend time starting a high school mentoring program quotIt39s wonderful if people are thinking creatively beyond their daytoday work If we all feel better about doing something good there39s a better chance we39ll do great things in our jobs Our biggest challenge in this business is not reinventing it because of fragmentation and new technologies It39s putting teams together of the best smartest and most motivated people who work hard and support each other Teamwork comes in many dimensionsquot He not only gave Christine and Sylvia his permission but promised support from CNNGreg appreciates the quotincredible supportquot he received from CNN and Turner Broadcasting when he was diagnosed with cancer ten years ago and again five years ago when a recurrence required chemotherapy Today quotthanks to BristolMyers and the fund raising efforts of Lance Armstrong that are really working to help find curesquot Greg is cancerfree and he considers his yellow quotLive Strongquot bracelet quottoday39s hottest fashion statementquotHis former boss Larry Goodman was responsible for bringing Greg to CNN and Greg says quothis support when I was diagnosed made him my soul brother for lifequot Larry and Greg had worked together at Selcom Radio Sales where Greg had finally been hired as a sales trainee quoteven though I didnamp8217t know anything about radio sales and had originally wanted to become a producerquot Greg left Selcom to join CBS Radio and when Goodman joined CNN D39Alba asked his friend to introduce him to CNN39s then sales manager Joe Uva now president of OMD the world39s largest media specialistquotCable was just starting and I only wanted to be at CNNquot Greg recalls quotJoe wasn39t interested but I kept going back for eight or nine interviews over six months Larry Lou LaTorre and John Popkowsky recommended me and Joe finally gave in Little did he know I39d be around 18 years later to haunt himquotquotJoe Larry Lou 39Pop39 Larry Divney Gerry Hogan and others I worked with paved the wayquot Greg acknowledges quotThey built the railroad and we39re enjoying the ride thanks to the tracks they laid down and thanks to Ted39s vision We all knew one thing Win or lose Ted was going to try and we were going to support him we drank his KoolAid We knew we were at a special place the news company of the future Ted taught us there were no limitations we worked hard but he also allowed us to have a lot of funquotGreg shared a second story that reflects his passion for family and belief in the importance of living every day Just a few days before our lunch Greg had returned from ten days in Sicily with his 81 yearold Dad who was the only one of five children born in the United States quotHe had never been to the 39old country39 and it was a spiritual experiencequot Greg related quotWe went to his family39s home town Bagheria outside Palermo quotDad asked a street vendor some questions speaking Italian hoping to find information about his family The next thing we knew people were gathering around giving us food and drinks During the next few days people were actually driving from nearby towns to meet us There wasn39t a second on the whole trip Dad wasn39t smilingquotWhen you39re with Greg it39s tough not to smile quotMy first goal is to take care of those around mequot he says quotI try to be a good dad and to create a good environment at work I39m at a point where I can do more to get involved with mentoring kids helping children with diseases and making our school systems betterquot Greg still thinks about becoming a producer one day quotI love what I do but I would love to run a studio The entertainment business is intriguing and its future will depend on innovation The real challenge will be putting teams together that can lead and allow them the freedom to be creativequotAs Greg and I walked out of Michael39s I recalled one of my early bosses admonishing me on an exceptionally tough day quotno one said it would be funquot If anyone ever says that to you tell them about Greg D39Alba

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CNN's Greg D'Alba: Who Said it Wouldn't Be Fun?

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