Political Economy alumnus Larry Kao got his first taste for working in entertainment during his time as a Berkeley Social Sciences student. That meaningful experience led him to his current role as a special projects supervisor for The Walt Disney Company.
A Bay Area native who graduated from Cal in 2002, Kao was a college marketing representative for EMI Music Distribution as well as manager of the student-run concert series on Lower Sproul Plaza. He received his M.A. in East Asian Studies from UCLA before officially beginning his entertainment career, which includes 13 years at 20th Century Fox, where he managed the distribution of Fox TV and film content to global broadcasters and streaming platforms.
In his current Disney position, which is based in London, Kao is a part of the Data Quality and Planning team, using data to identify trends and improve the digital supply chain for Disney Entertainment and ESPN Technology in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. He also was operationally involved in the successful launch of Disney's STAR brand in Europe; the launch of Disney+ in the Asia-Pacific region; and Disney+'s expansion into Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which brought a large volume of TV and film content to the Disney+ platform.
Kao spoke to Berkeley Social Sciences about how his involvement in extracurricular activities at Cal set him on the path to a successful career and his advice for young professionals seeking career opportunities. This interview has been edited for clarity. Kao said views are his own, and do not represent the company.
What skills or qualities do you believe are most important for young professionals to develop if they want to build careers in entertainment and beyond?
Larry Kao: Most important in any career search is figuring out what you want, regardless of industry. Even though entertainment is a creative industry, most major entertainment companies are mass media conglomerates with a diverse array of non-creative divisions, from legal, finance and business affairs, to distribution operations, planning and sales, among many others. Do a little research about what you want to do so you have a better idea about your own career goals, or if you need more information, don't be afraid to ask. Your network won't be able to help you if you don't help them first by giving them a more specific area of interest to either help you directly or connect you with someone better placed to do so.
Once you have an idea about your goals, critical thinking, analytical and creative problem-solving skills are important to develop for competency, while communications and interpersonal skills are important for the social element of working life. The specifics of the role, the company and/or the industry can be learned on the job through orientations and job-specific trainings — but college is the best time to build a foundation of analytical skills through coursework regardless of major, and communications and interpersonal skills through extracurricular activities and learning to interact well with a diverse group of people that you may not always agree with or like.
How can Berkeley Social Sciences graduates use their college experience to prepare for executive roles in entertainment and beyond?
Larry Kao: Executive roles are about more than just managing people, it's also about having a vision for the organization, short- and long-term strategies, and a plan to achieve them. In certain respects, just graduating from Berkeley already develops a lot of planning/execution skills, given how administrative Berkeley is compared to some of our private institution peers.
Coursework and Berkeley admin aside, this is where extracurriculars can round out your leadership experience. Draw from impactful roles that you had while at Berkeley, and think about what you learned from them and your impact on the organization. If you were not able to have those extracurricular experiences while at Berkeley, in your working life, look for projects that give you the opportunity to develop and show management that you are capable of strategic thinking and executing your plans. And if your current work cannot offer that, getting involved with volunteer organizations may also give you the opportunity to develop those skills further.
What are things early-career professionals should avoid if they are seeking advancement and promotion?
Larry Kao: Complacency. Though it is difficult to find the right balance between staying in a position long enough to get the most out of it, but not so long that you are stagnant. You need to be ambitious enough to continue looking for the next opportunity, but not so ambitious that you are never happy with what you have.
The definition will be different for everyone, and even different for the same person at different stages of their life. If you find yourself feeling stagnant professionally and are unhappy about it, there are avenues to fix the situation through looking for new opportunities by having conversations internally with colleagues that can help, using your professional network or taking a class to gain another skillset. It is important to periodically do a self-assessment to see if you are satisfied with where you are and how to improve your situation if you aren't, so that you can move closer to achieving your professional goals.
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