Chief Change Officer
#122 Building People, Not Products: César Couto Ferreira’s Journey from Entertainment to Legacy
Thu, 26 Dec 2024
What happens when a media mogul trades the spotlight for purpose? César Couto Ferreira, former MTV and Vice Media executive, knows the answer. From working with global icons like Madonna and Coldplay to launching media operations in Europe and Brazil, César mastered the art of navigating fame and business. But he chose to step away from the bubble of glamour to build a legacy that’s uniquely his. Now, César is shaping the future of media through business development at olio.is and Streamhub, blending his philosophical vision with practical innovation. Key Highlights of Our Interview: MTV: From a Dream to Daily Life “Watching MTV as a kid, I thought, ‘That’s the dream.’ By 2003, I was living it. From Portugal to London, I went from fan to colleague—working with my idols and hanging out with heroes.” A Front-Row Seat to Media Transformation “From analog to digital, concerts to streaming, I’ve been at the frontline of media’s biggest shift. And yes, I saw REM’s last concert—jealous yet? Launching MTV Portugal, mentoring MTV Base Africa, bringing MTV Italy and Greece to life—it was a whirlwind of concerts, launches, and 1 billion viewers streaming the EMAs from Lisbon.” The Dark Side of the Spotlight “Being immersed in the industry, I witnessed its pitfalls. Amy Winehouse, a radiant talent, was in the wrong hands. Seeing how brilliance was overshadowed by exploitation made me question the industry’s priorities. When Amy died, it wasn’t just a loss; it was a wake-up call. I couldn’t be part of a system that profits from pain. That day, I knew—I needed to change the game.” A Quest for a Better Industry “Creativity deserves care, not exploitation. That realization sparked a mission to create spaces where artistry thrives without the shadows of industry’s darker sides.” Designing Society, One Summit at a Time “As a self-proclaimed ‘designer for society,’ I worked with governments and innovators to connect tourism and tech. The Web Summit is proof that big ideas and small countries can make magic.” _________________________ Connect with Us: Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Cesar Couto Ferreira ______________________ --Chief Change Officer-- Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself. Open a World of Deep Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives, Visionary Underdogs, Transformation Gurus & Bold Hearts. 6 Million+ All-Time Downloads. Reaching 80+ Countries Daily. Global Top 3% Podcast. Top 10 US Business. Top 1 US Careers. >>>100,000+ subscribers are outgrowing. Act Today.<<< --Chief Change Officer--Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself.Open a World of Expansive Human Intelligencefor Transformation Gurus, Black Sheep,Unsung Visionaries & Bold Hearts.EdTech Leadership Awards 2025 Finalist.18 Million+ All-Time Downloads.80+ Countries Reached Daily.Global Top 1.5% Podcast.Top 10 US Business.Top 1 US Careers.>>>170,000+ are outgrowing. Act Today.<<<
Chapter 1: Who is César Couto Ferreira?
Hi, everyone. Welcome to our show, Chief Change Officer. I'm Vince Chan, your ambitious human host. Our show is a modernist community for change progressives in organizational and human transformation from around the world. Today's guest is Cecil Coutu Ferreira from Portugal, a beautiful, beautiful country I visited a few years ago to join the Web Summit in Lisbon as a guest and a speaker.
The people are warm, the food is great, the sea and the sky are so blue. I surely want to go back. This episode is like a real-life version of the popular HBO TV series, Secession. I'm sure many of you watched the show. It's not just about a secession war for the top job of CEO within a super wealthy and powerful family, but also about the war in old media versus new media and tech.
a succession from old money to new money. Since the beginning of the century, Cecil has been involved in this transformation from analog to digital media, from a DJ and TV presenter to an MTV Networks executive, working with Madonna and all the music stars. He's seen the bright and the dark sides of 21st century media and entertainment. Without further ado, let's get into the war.
When I was a kid, I was always keen for biology, for science. And I went to the biotech and I had the opportunity to do this scholarship. And I went to France. I was an high performance athlete when I was 19. And this is obviously the passion of my life, but I had a family that was in media. All my family from my mom's side, basically they were working in media and radio philosophers.
They were thinkers, basically very creative people. And my brain in a way was divided. I've always wanted for the logical side of things, but my DNA, let's put it like this, my genetics and my environment was pushing me to arts and to be creative. There was a time that I finished my graduation and I thought, okay, I'm going to do biotech and I'm going to work with wine. I'm going to do it.
Everything I dream of, but my passion was radio. And this is really good because we're doing a podcast. So this for me is really nice. So radio just was raving for me. It was calling me and my dreams obviously was resonating. And I had this amazing opportunity to become a radio DJ.
Wow.
Quite, quite early in my life. And I was studying at the same time and doing radio at the same time. And I finished my grad and suddenly someone asked me, and this is really funny because it was, I was having this coffee conversation and someone was listening to me and say, are you that guy? And I said, yeah. And he said, do you want to work for my radio? Can be the radio manager.
I was 23 years old. And I became a radio manager. Then I accepted and I was quite successful. And then television came. I just became this TV host for a local TV channel. In the very brief moment of my life, in three, four years, my dream come true. I always said that I wanted to work for MTV. I was always watching MTV when I was a kid.
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Chapter 2: What was César's journey to MTV?
I launched MTV Greece, was the first licensee in Europe, first full HD channel for MTV Europe. And that was crazy. And I would say, I re-am last concert in Europe, 70,000 people to do the EMAs in Lisbon, 2005, you know, 1 billion people streaming and watching it. See, we already go into the direction of streaming.
I think we're looking at something much, much bigger than just a personal transformation. Your three-minute career story is not only your own evolution, but also a pivotal shift in the entire media and entertainment industry, from the analog world to the digital and social media age.
with MTV with Vice. I'm happy with that. I know that I did a good job. I had an influence. And when you work with a global brand that has such a huge voice, you're going to do good if you want to do good. And I did a good thing. So I'm really happy for that. And it's really easy to work in a global brand. It's so easy because things come to you.
You just have to say, I work for MTV and everything's good. Everybody opens your doors. Then comes the failure part of things. Digital is not... performing well for us. And I think the future is in the digital world. And I knew Shane Smith from VICE and I know the guys, the founders from VICE at the time. And I saw what they're doing in a very narcissistic way.
And I moved to VICE because it was the CNN of the streets as the claim said it at the time and WPPE was on board. Everyone was on board and they were doing an amazing job at the time. So I moved to VICE and from that on, I just decided, okay, I'm going to embrace technology and I'm going to embrace innovation. I was already working in tech since 2009, but I couldn't tell anyone. I had a sidekick.
I had a friend of mine that was the founder also of this company, and we were just doing projects on the sidelines just for fun. It was a fun business at the time for me, but I was in love by tech. When you work with a multinational global love brand, Your IP, your intelligence belongs to them. You sign a waiver, it's normal. You just find that everything that you create belongs to them.
One thing I surely appreciate, and I think you'll echo this, is that working in big corporations, no matter the industry, can be an incredible training ground. The opportunities are massive with a powerful brand. lending prestige to your resume. But at the end of the day, much of what you work on isn't really your own intellectual property.
With that in mind, and considering you moved on back then, I'm curious about your thought process behind this decision. The reason I'm asking is that many of us, as we develop our career paths, face moments that are either expected or completely out of the blue. Each decision, each transition, I believe, is a delicate balance between logic and psychology.
You mentioned earlier that while you are trained in science with a very logical mind, you're also very into art, into creative work, into philosophy. So back then, how did you navigate this balance when making career decisions?
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Chapter 3: What dark side of the entertainment industry did César witness?
Obviously, there's a lot of things that are inspiring in real life, but real life is going to be much more complicated. It's going to be real. It's not science. It's not fiction. Sorry. So when I think about these people and when I think about the person that inspired Jerry Maguire, they are so kind and so humble, full of knowledge. This is what I learned from them. And they are artists of change.
And they know that nothing lasts forever. They know that.
Artists of change. Yes. Change is an art more than a science. You work in a media industry. It's always about the glamour. You probably do all those places, parties, stores.
Yeah, slash the hotel all the time. Yeah, all the time.
Exactly.
They punk your ego all the time. But if you want to be a pioneer, you're going to face the wall.
Yeah, the wall is right there. It's just right there.
Exactly. It's like when you're the first person in the world to do something, you're touching the wall. It's not like I'm not going to face the wall. I'm touching the wall and I'm trying to understand the texture of the wall and how I can grasp between the branches of the wall.
You've told me before that you're all in for building a legacy. After experiencing the highs and lows of the media and entertainment industry, you've gone on to build ventures and venture ecosystem in Brazil and back home in Portugal. A key highlight, I believe, has been your involvement with the WEB Summit in Lisbon. While Patty Cosgrave might be the face and voice of the summit,
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Chapter 4: How did Amy Winehouse's story influence César?
The same way what happened with migration in US in the past, with all the brains from Germany to Jewish going to the US and bringing knowledge, bringing so much knowledge, capital, human capital and financial capital, of course, but both.
You have to have both elements in order for the economy to grow, to develop. It actually is the golden rule. It actually is a timeless golden rule.
And there's no fast solutions. We know that in every kind of business, there's no fast solutions. I would love for us to be Sweden. I was in the ecosystem in Stockholm, and they are unbelievable, but they do. There are 4.5 million people, if I'm not wrong, in Sweden, and their GDP is crazy. Their level of literacy on every level, it's unbelievable.
So for me, we're not still in that process at all. It's a long way to go. But when I see mentorship and when I see people and I see the talent that we're developing and learning from others, because so much good people from other countries, from other continents are coming to Portugal and bringing so much experience, so much talent, so much knowledge that we're evolving.
Yesterday, I saw a young CEO. She was 27 years old. She started her startup when she was 24. I was amazed by her knowledge. I was amazed by her focus. She was laser focus, major laser focus. And she was not born in Lisbon. She was not born in Oporto. I think it was in Aveiro or something like that. But the level of knowledge that she owns, it's crazy. She was 27 years old.
I wanted to be her, honestly. I was listening to her and I was seeing what she was saying. And I was like, damn, you're really good. And I'm really happy for that. That's when you ask me, what is my driven? It's all about legacy. I gave an interview once and in the middle, because I don't deprive myself for anything of this. I just go with flow.
It's my way of working because I like to be like this.
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Chapter 5: What does it mean to design for society?
Last question of the day. As a former media executive, what advice would you give to people who are deeply immersed in social media?
People need to read books. People need to work. People need to... And right now, everything's quite fast. The fear of missing out. And there's a lot of hype. I always say to people, don't believe the hype. Don't be blinded by the lies. This is all media and creative cliches, but it's true. Go with the curiosity mind. Just go with this mindset.
If you're doing that, it's already amazing because you learn so much. You're going to learn so much. If anything like a hot topic is going to tell you, okay, let's try to understand crispy additions or let's go to understand a little bit about.
Thank you so much for your wise words and of course your time.
Thank you so much for joining us today. If you like what you heard, don't forget, subscribe to our show, leave us top-rated reviews, check out our website, and follow me on social media. I'm Vince Chen, your ambitious human host. Until next time, take care.
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