Viacom International Media Networks' Robert Bakish To Deliver The 2013 Keynote Address At Columbia University's School Of Engineering And Applied Science Class Day Ceremony

The Columbia Daily Spectator, the daily student newspaper of the American private Ivy League research university Columbia University in the City of New York, is reporting the Nickelodeon News in the following article that Robert Bakish, the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), will deliver the keynote address at the 2013 School of Engineering and Applied Science Class Day ceremony. The annual event, which honors seniors graduating from both the undergraduate school and engineering graduate programs, will take place Monday 20th May 2013:

Viacom International Media CEO to speak at SEAS Class Day

Robert Bakish, SEAS ’85, Business ’89, and president and chief executive officer of Viacom International Media Networks, will deliver the keynote address at the School of Engineering and Applied Science Class Day ceremony.

The annual event, which honors seniors graduating from both the undergraduate school and engineering graduate programs, will take place May 20.

“It is an honor to represent Columbia Engineering and a privilege to be asked by my School peers to speak at such an important event,” Bakish said in a statement. “I look forward to the opportunity to share my experience at Columbia Engineering and the invaluable foundation it laid for me, and most importantly, celebrate the 2013 graduates and their limitless professional futures.”

Bakish, who majored in operations research in SEAS before earning his MBA from the Business School in 1989, was named president and chief executive officer of Viacom International Media Networks in January 2011.

At Viacom, he is responsible for all media networks and associated businesses outside the United States, including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount Channel, and VIVA. He also oversees Viacom’s U.S. Hispanic service Tr3s: MTV, Música y Más, as well as Viacom’s international TV-related ventures in India, Korea, the U.K., Australia, and Italy.

The SEAS senior class council, representing undergraduates, and the SEAS Graduate Student Council, representing MS, PhD, and professional degree students, worked together to select Bakish as their graduation speaker for 2013.

“We are honored to have Bob, a distinguished alumnus and a powerhouse in the media world, speak at Class Day this year,” Donald Goldfarb, interim dean SEAS said in a statement. “I have known him since he was a student in the IEOR Department when I joined the faculty in 1982.”

Prior to his Viacom appointment, Bakish was president of MTV Networks International, running MTVN’s operations outside the U.S. He has also served as executive vice president for operations and Viacom Enterprises, as executive vice president and chief operating officer of MTVN Advertising Sales, and as Chairman of the Cable Television Advertising Bureau. Prior to that, he was senior vice president, planning, development and technology, for Viacom. Before joining Viacom, Bakish was a partner with Booz Allen & Hamilton in its media and entertainment practice.

Goldfarb said Bakish’s diverse experience makes him exactly the type of speaker SEAS was looking for to inspire its students.

“Bob’s impressive career path in media and business exemplifies the versatility of a Columbia Engineering education, and his ties to the School send a positive and uplifting message to our future leaders in engineering and applied science as they set out on their own paths to success,” Goldfarb said.

Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story's headline identified Bakish as the CEO of Viacom, although the story correctly described him as the CEO of Viacom International Media Networks. Spectator regrets the error.