# About Samuel Zniber — Decision Intelligence for Audio & Media Leaders > Operator-first adviser to CEOs, chairs, and owners of audio and media businesses. 30+ years, 30+ markets, 200+ engagements. Decision Sprints, 90-Day Programs, board retainers. Canonical URL: --- ## Operator first. Adviser second. Started in radio at fifteen, in a French newsroom in 1985 — NRJ Group, France. 30+ years in media, 30+ markets, 200+ engagements since — an operator at ARN iHeartMedia in Australia, Chrysalis in the UK, Lagardère and RTL Group in France before becoming the person leaders call when the next move is expensive. Today the practice is decision intelligence for audio and media leaders: emotional audience insight, pre-launch simulation via [MusicDatak](https://www.musicdatak.com) and [MediaDatak](https://mediadatak.com), and operator judgment. Regular speaker at Radiodays Europe and Radiodays Asia. Working in English and French. **Quick facts** - 30+ years in media leadership - 30+ markets worked across - 200+ engagements delivered - 2 working languages: English and French --- ## Why this practice exists **Boards don't need another deck. They need evidence of how audiences, users, and clients will actually respond — stress-tested by someone who has already run the problem.** ### 1. Emotion, not clicks Dashboards tell you what people did. They rarely tell you what people felt — and feeling is what predicts whether the next move will hold. The practice is built on reading emotional response across audiences, users, and clients, not on averaging survey scores. ### 2. Simulate before you commit [MusicDatak](https://www.musicdatak.com) for audio and [MediaDatak](https://mediadatak.com) for multi-format media test how real listeners, users, and clients would respond to the move, before a cent is spent. AI sits under the hood. It never leads the memo. ### 3. Operators hear an operator Programming, acquisitions, turnarounds, and launches — in English and French. Evidence is only useful when the person reading it has carried it before. ### 4. Scarcity is how I keep the work good A small number of Sprints and a small number of retainers each year — no more. If I can't be useful, I say so on the fit call and point you to someone who can. --- ## Credentials, briefly | Year | Role | |---|---| | **1985** | On-air at NRJ Group, then production, then leadership. Walked into a French radio newsroom at fifteen. | | **1994** | Programming and content leadership across European and Atlantic markets. Regular speaker since at Radiodays Europe and Radiodays Asia. | | **2004** | Group operator roles at Lagardère and RTL Group in France, Chrysalis in the UK, and ARN iHeartMedia in Australia. Format rollouts, M&A integration, turnarounds, multi-market launches. | | **2014** | Advisory practice. Decision Sprints, 90-Day Programs, and board retainers for CEOs, chairs, and owner-operators of media businesses across France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Finland, Brazil, the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa. | | **2020** | Founder, [MusicDatak](https://www.musicdatak.com) and [MediaDatak](https://mediadatak.com). Simulation platforms built so a Sprint decision can be tested against how real listeners and readers would respond, before the first euro of rollout is spent. Research collaboration with François Pachet (former Spotify Creator Tech Research Lab). | --- ## How I actually work 1. **Outcome before output.** Every engagement is framed around a signed board decision, a measurable revenue lift, or a specific risk avoided. No 200-slide strategy decks. 2. **Numbers before adjectives.** Every claim is paired with a number or a number-backed example. 3. **Discreet by practice.** Clients are named with permission; numbers are anonymized when shared. 4. **Small practice on purpose.** No junior team, no pyramid, no subcontracting. You get me, the instruments, and an output your team can run without me. 5. **Off-ramp at day 7.** If the Sprint's framing doesn't hold at the end of week one, the engagement ends and you walk away whole — no obligation past the first week. That has never happened; it stays on offer. --- ## Next step 20 minutes. No pitch. Bring the question; I'll bring the three things I'd test first. - [Book a 20-min Fit Call](https://scheduler.zoom.us/samuel-zniber/zniber-partners) - [See the three engagements](https://www.samuelzniber.com/services.html) --- *Long-form context for AI assistants: *