Martine M. Saint-Vil?
Senior Finance Manager, Digital
Nickelodeon/Viacom
New York, NY
Age: 35
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In 2008, after being laid off from Fox Television, Martine Saint-Vil learned that doing good work is not enough to succeed. ??In my mind, I was doing a good job and was a valued employee. But I realized that often we are not in the room when decisions are being made about who stays and who goes. So, it is really important to have relationships with the people who are in those rooms,? Saint-Vil says. ?Your work doesn?t attend those meetings; your supporters do.? ??
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This is exactly how Saint-Vil obtained her current position. ?At Viacom, I allowed relationships to grow organically, but I made it a point to build on those relationships. And when the decision was being made to shift someone into the finance division, one of my sponsors recommended me,? she notes. Four years in, Saint-Vil is the senior finance manager at Nickelodeon Digital/Viacom and enjoying the role. ?I?m a media baby. Even if one day I?m no longer at Nickelodeon, I?ll always be in the digital space,? she asserts. She is charged with conducting all reporting across the entire profit-and-loss statements for the company?s digital advertising sales, digital affiliate deals and digital ancillary revenue. ?
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A Haitian-American, Saint-Vil holds an MBA from University of Maryland College Park with emphasis on entrepreneurship and study abroad in Dubai. ?I wanted to learn about taking calculated risks to grow or launch a company,? she says. She earned a B.A. at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.?
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Saint-Vil enjoys giving back to the community. She is the fundraising co-chair at the Schomburg Center Corp., part of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. ?Viacom and Nickelodeon will go on whether you are there or not. But the Schomburg is legacy, and it feels good to contribute to that legacy,? she says.?
