John Meacham/ The Minaret
Ever wondered what to do with a history degree?
Paul Heth, of The Universtity of Tampa class of ’90, took the exposure he gained as a history major, moved to Russia and made some money by revitalizing the Russian world of motion picture by introducing western style movie theaters shortly after the Soviet Union split.
Last Monday, Heth followed up on an invitation from Tom Garrett, assistant professor of communication, to return to his alma mater.
He was accompanied by Shari Redstone, president of National Amusements Inc,. and his business partner for CineBridge Ventures, their U.S. company.
Together with moderator John Wilson, co-anchor of WTVT-13 Fox News, they shared their story of success and how to maintain a private life.
“You never know where the winds of commerce will take you,” Heth said about his success.
In Heth’s case, he first ended up in northern Russia. The only two people that spoke English were him and a missionary.
“It was a quite educational experience, I now know the Bible very well,” Heth said about his start in Russia.
He eventually moved to Moscow, where he started operating theaters in hotels, where English speakers were the largest customer base.
He was able to convince a world renowned soda company to give him their products on commission and pay for newspaper advertisement after he did his screenings, which enabled him to get a start.
He worked several positions in his theaters to get a better understanding of every process.
He then flew back to the U.S. every two weeks, so he could get new movies to show in his Russian theaters. After getting Kodak as a business partner and building more theaters, Heth partnered up with Redstone, who owns a number of theaters throughout the country and the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Viacom and CBS.
The two companies built CineBridge Ventures, which is Heth’s operational base for the American market. The two operate in Russia, as well.
While Redstone and Heth possess visionary and entrepreneurial skills, they consider success the result of hard work. Although Heth sees his success as being at the right place at the right time, he also tends to micromanage.
“Nothing is set in stone,” Heth said about the constantly changing film business, as well as the theater business, which he mainly focuses on.
Redstone looks at success just as rational.
“In the end you have to trust the guy,” she emphasized when asked what she looks for in business partners.
Although very busy individuals, Heth and Redstone accentuate the importance of a private life and a family.
Heth, who is married to a Russian, gave an insight of how he steadily improves his language skills. “My son mainly speaks Russian, so in order to communicate with him, I have to speak Russian,” Heth said.
Redstone, who is a mother of three, knows where to draw the line between work and home life.
“You need to have a private life; sometimes it just isn’t beneficial to answer your phone at three or four in the night,” Redstone said.
The event was followed by a brief reception on the ninth floor of Vaughn, where visitors could interact with the guests and each other.
