New Zealander Brent Hansen might not be a household name in his home country, but his former role as the Creative President and Editor-in-Chief of MTV International made him one of the most influential people in music television globally.
Hansen is returning to New Zealand to share his story in a candid one-on-one live interview at The Phoenix Summit, a one-day music, entertainment and media industry event created by Rhythm and Vines co-founder Hamish Pinkham.
“Brent’s success on the world stage is inspiring and being able to have someone of his calibre to share his stories and learnings in this forum is incredible” says Pinkham. “We can’t wait to have him back on Kiwi shores and join us for this event.”
Hansen’s early career in television production started with working on some of New Zealand’s classic programmes, including Romper Room and That’s Country. Joining the team at late night music show Radio with Pictures, he rose to the role of director and producer in 1982. With the show on hiatus in 1986, Brent looked overseas and was offered a role as a news producer with MTV as it launched in Europe, and by the early 1990’s he was Head of Programming for all of Europe. He then continued on to become Creative President and Editor-in-Chief for all of MTV International.
Hansen will be interviewed live on stage at The Phoenix Summit by New Zealand entertainment TV veteran, Dominic Bowden, joining a line up which already includes John Legend’s manager and creative director to Lady Gaga, through to the creators of some of the most respected social movements in America.
Along with Hansen’s involvement – the full programme for The Phoenix Summit has now been released, which includes a long list of inspiring local talent such as New Zealand musicians Anna Coddington and Jan Hellriegel, music education expert Martin Emo, social change advocate Te Aroha Grace and TV and feature film documentary producer and director Julia Parnell.
The Phoenix Summit will take place on Saturday 14 September at Q Theatre Auckland. Full programme details and tickets are available from www.phoenixsummit.co.nz