Our monthly employee spotlight is back, and this time, we're thrilled to introduce you to Terry Kelly, one of our exceptional project managers here at Edisen.
Terry's journey into project management, is nothing short of inspiring. In our Q&A she shares insights into her career path, her approach to managing projects at Edisen, and how she stays ahead in our tech-driven environment.
Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in project management, especially within the post and production industry?
A: I graduated with a degree in film, specializing in production and post production for television. After working in various positions, especially in the broadcast arena, I decided I liked the freedom being a project manager allows me. Rather than being pigeonholed into doing one thing day after day, I get to touch on many pieces of a project, and watching everything come together is so rewarding. I love leading a team to victory.
Q: Outside of work, what are your hobbies or interests that help you unwind and recharge?
A: Outside of work, I love to read and bake. My goal is to read 50 books this year (I'm already halfway through), and I love to watch the show The Great British Bake Off and bake something from the challenges each week!
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
A: I would travel to Italy. I've never been, and it's at the top of my bucket list. I love the history, art, and culture from Italy (as well as the food!) and I can't wait to see it in person!
Q: What do you find most rewarding about managing projects at Edisen?
A:I find working with my team to be really rewarding. It's a very collaborative and supportive atmosphere, which I think allows people to be really creative. And I love to see the finished product that we've worked really hard on make it out into the world. It's great to open up Instagram and say "Hey! We worked on that!".
Q: How do you approach balancing the creative aspects of projects with the technical requirements of your role?
A: Balancing the creative aspects with the technical is pretty easy because our platform was created to make the creative aspects easier. I work closely with the platform team to ensure I know about and can test all the new features they roll out in service of our creative projects. As we go through all the features on the platform, it's easy to take note of what works, what doesn't work, and what could use fine tuning to make it really shine. And because of our relationship with the platform team, it's easy to pass that on and have conversations with them so everyone understands how to make the platform better.
Q: Can you share a particularly challenging project you've managed and how you overcame obstacles to ensure its success?
A: Last year our team worked on the show Squid Game: The Challenge. When we took it on we expected it to be a fairly standard project, but it grew far beyond what we expected, not only in terms of scope, but in time as well. We had to overcome obstacles regarding communication, scheduling, creative differences... We got through it by really focusing on communication between all parties, our creative team, the client, the vendors, and just making sure that everything was out in the open and getting everyone on the same page as often as possible. In the end, we managed to deliver everything asked of while keeping to the final timeline, and the client loved it.
Q: In your opinion, what are the key qualities or skills that make a great project manager in the tech-driven environment of our company?
A: What makes a great project manager, especially in a tech-driven environment, is knowing what you don't know and being honest about it. My background is in television, not tech, and I am the first to admit when things are out of my scope of expertise. It's about knowing when to defer to the experts, be they people on my team or in other departments, to make sure that the right people are communicating.
