Proof — under NDA by default

Numbers before adjectives.

Client names are protected. Numbers are not. Three anonymized case studies, a redacted deliverable gallery, the logos I’m cleared to show, and what operators have said on the record.

200+ engagements 30+ markets 30+ years Zero leaks in 25 years
Who the work has been for

Names stay under NDA.

Clients are discreet for good reason — most of these moves are live and none of them are ready to be a case study in Campaign. Here’s the shape of the book instead.

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Top-10 European groups

Multi-market operators with public-interest charters and board oversight. Decisions with political and regulatory surface area.

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Owner-operated networks in APAC & the Americas

3- to 50-station networks with a single P&L and an owner who signs the cheque. The Sprint answers land in a week, not a quarter.

4

Publishers moving into audio

Newsrooms and broadsheets deciding whether podcasts, voice, and on-demand audio are a format, a department, or a distraction.

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Sovereign and public-service broadcasters

State-linked audio and television groups navigating remit, revenue, and reform at the same time. Board papers live in at least two languages.

References · sector matches · and at least one live client in your adjacency — shared after the fit call, under mutual NDA.

Case 01 · Giant group · M&A

Top-5 European media group. Merger readiness.

The board had four weeks. The decision had to hold on three continents, two languages, and four regulatory regimes. No leaks.

The setup

A merger that every adviser was pitching for.

Four global consulting firms had already presented. Each deck said “yes”. The chair wanted a contrarian pressure-test under NDA before signing.

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scenarios modeled

Integration, carve-out, joint venture, partial stake, and seven variants. Each tested against regulatory, talent, audience, and balance-sheet constraints.

19 days
to board sign-off

From kickoff to signed memo. Three working sessions with the chair. One written board memo. One 45-minute presentation.

€42M
deal-risk reduction

The memo flagged two synergy claims that would not have cleared antitrust in the proposed form. Restructuring the offer saved roughly €42M in contested earn-outs.

The outcome

“The memo was the one document the board read in full. Signed as written.”

— Chair, anonymized under NDA. Full reference on request after signature.

Engagement

Decision Sprint, 3 weeks

Single engagement, signed SOW. Intake, scenario modeling via MediaDatak, three working sessions, one board memo.

Case 02 · Owner-operator · Format

Pacific AM/FM operator. Format reset.

A 14-station regional owner had lost two rating points in 18 months. The instinct was to copy the biggest competitor. The data said otherwise.

The setup

Listener flight to DSPs plus a format war with a national competitor.

The CEO had budget for one format overhaul. If it missed, advertisers would follow the audience out.

+18%
listener satisfaction

Measured pre/post on a panel of 1,200 listeners across three target markets. Held at 90 days, 180 days, 12 months.

+2.1pts
share gain, 6 months

Against the national competitor’s copy-format play. Two of the 14 stations tripled their share; three stayed flat; none declined.

21 days
from kickoff to green-light

A Decision Sprint simulated how the local audience would respond to three formats through MusicDatak. The winning version was the one the management team least wanted.

The outcome

“Samuel gave us permission to not copy the competitor. That was the entire value.”

— CEO, Pacific AM/FM group. Anonymized under NDA; full reference on request.

Engagement

Decision Sprint → 90-Day Program

The Sprint (21 days) locked the format. The 90-Day Program ran three test-and-learn cycles across the network. Scoped as three signed milestones.

Case 03 · Multinational · Launch

Multinational publisher. Audio launch.

A €4M audio rollout was already in the CFO’s budget. The CEO wanted a last-look before the wire cleared.

The setup

Three format concepts, one global brand, zero time for a wrong bet.

Internal research said A. An agency said B. Competitive pressure said C. The deadline said “pick one, Friday.”

3
concepts pressure-tested

Each concept stress-tested against 14,000 simulated listeners, four regulatory regimes, two ad markets, and the CFO’s cost envelope.

€3.1M
redirected before wire

The option internal research picked did not hold. The memo redirected €3.1M of the €4M rollout to the option that did, and trimmed €900K of wasted scope.

14 days
from call to memo

Board approved the Sprint on a Monday. Memo delivered two weeks later. Launch proceeded on the redirected plan.

The outcome

“The fastest €900K of savings we’ve ever authorized, and the only time an adviser told us to narrow the plan.”

— CEO, multinational publisher. Anonymized under NDA; full reference on request.

Engagement

Decision Sprint, 2 weeks

Single engagement, accelerated timeline. Scenario modeling via MediaDatak. One memo. One board presentation. Done.

On the record — under NDA

What operators say when the call ends.

Every quote below is real, verified, and tied to a reference available on request after signature. Names are withheld per client NDA.

“He’s the only adviser I’ve hired twice for the same question. The first time he told me no. The second time he told me when to move.”
CEO European audio group · 400+ stations
“Short memo. Every line mattered. We signed it as written.”
Chair Top-5 European media group · M&A
“We expected a consultant. We got an operator who’d already run our problem three times.”
CDO Multinational publisher · audio launch
“He told us not to do the thing we’d already decided to do. Six months later I wrote him to say thanks.”
Founder / CEO Regional AM/FM operator · 14 stations
“Short engagement, long-half-life decision. The memo is still the reference document in our board pack two years later.”
COO News-talk operator · monetization pivot
“The board paid attention because Samuel had. That’s the product.”
Non-exec director European group · regulatory response

Full references, signed SOWs, and redacted deliverables shared after the fit call — under mutual NDA.

The NDA stance

Why names stay off this page.

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Default to NDA

Every engagement signs a mutual NDA before the intake call. Names, numbers, deliverables, timelines — all confidential unless the client explicitly releases a logo or a quote.

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25 years, zero leaks

Boards hire me in part because nothing they discuss shows up in the press, on a conference stage, or in a LinkedIn post. That discipline is non-negotiable.

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References after the call

After the 20-minute fit call, I’ll put you in touch with the two or three references closest to your situation. They’ll take the call because they’ve said they would.

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Redacted samples on request

Redacted Decision Memos, options matrices, and 30-day plans shared after the fit call, tied to the engagement shape closest to yours.

The rest of the proof is on the call.

20 minutes. No pitch. If your situation rhymes with one of the three above, you’ll know within the first five.

Book a 20-min Fit Call See the three engagements