1) Can you share a bit about your professional background and current role?

I'm a former television producer who pitched/wrote/edited news and sports programming for the NBA and HBO while living in New York. I had a bit of a premature mid-life crisis in my late 20s when I realized I did not have the constitution for a purely creative career (I still have nightmares about staring at an editing bay at 3 AM not having any idea how to fix what I was just created) and so I went back to school (NYU) and transitioned to a business focused role in media and entertainment. It's been a bit of a circuitous journey but now I'm leading Prime Video's business in the EU and the head of global distribution partnerships (i.e., Prime Video on Apple/Samsung/LG/etc). I recently relocated to London for the role with my wife and 2 kids.

2) How have advancements in on-device technology influenced Prime Video’s global footprint and your approach to product and partnership development?

The interesting dynamic from a partnership perspective is that many of the OEMs we work with have historically been laser focused on building the best hardware (e.g., Samsung/LG panels) and less focused on software development and expertise. Now that streaming (versus cable) is the most widely utilized form of media consumption on these devices (and hardware margins have compressed) they have had to pivot quickly to building best in class operating systems that support a variety of new and complex technologies (low latency streaming for live sports, dynamic ad insertion, etc). So whereas our relationships in the past used to be highly transactional (take our porting kit and just put our app on your box)--now we deeply engage on forward looking plans with all partners (including down to the chip manufacturers) to collaborate in a mutually beneficial way to create best in class experiences (content discovery, low latency, etc) and drive monetization.

I believe that a healthy distribution ecosystem for competition and innovation is a result of having a broad range of players and that's what's happening in the living room right now--if you have a moment check out some of the announcements at CES--it's a really interesting space IMO that will learn from some of the challenges that occurred in mobile.

3) Throughout your career, you've successfully negotiated numerous deals and built key partnerships. What guidance would you offer to founders as they navigate forming partnerships and handling negotiations?

It's not an original idea (see Getting to Yes) but always focus on interests versus positions in deals. Take the time to know what's truly important for your customers and your business and ensure you protect those interests but always be flexible in the negotiation as to how you do that. Focusing on positions results in binary/stand-off dynamics that result in zero-sum outcomes (those typically lead to tense relationships). When trying to grow and foster healthy relationships you also always want to put yourself in the shoes of the person on the other side of the table (both the individual and the organization) and try to not only understand their interests during a negotiation but anticipate their approach; this tactic limit emotionally charged reactions to term sheets which can derail negotiations. Lastly try to find a true partner/advocate on the other side of the table that you can have candid/off the record conversations with about how best to navigate each of your respective stakeholders.

4) What inspired you to become a Shakti Titan and what are you excited about as you engage with the Shakti community?

Like many others at this stage of a career, I'd like to start giving back. I'm highly passionate about mentoring younger talent and sharing what I've learned after 25+ years in the media and entertainment business. Further I'm super curious about emerging technologies and love the idea of having access to the folks who will be disrupting and innovating the status quo. In general though I just like talking to really smart and ambitious people and they are not hard to find in this community.

5) Amazon's 14 Leadership principles are often studied by aspiring business leaders who seek to understand and emulate the success of this company that started as a bookstore in Jeff Bezos's garage in 1995. Which of these principles are most important for start up founders to keep in mind?

After 12+ years at Amazon I can tell you first hand these principles work. It's remarkable. I was skeptical at first when I read them but now I use them every single day. “Earns Trust” is by far my favorite as I believe it encapsulates most of the others. If you are (among others) customer obsessed, diving deep, are right a lot, biasing for action--you will earn the trust of others. In my experience once you've earned someone's trust it enables things to scale quickly as you aren't spending time questioning motivations/depth of knowledge/general competency/etc--you can spend all your time and energy on solving problems together.

6) Speaking of Amazon & video... what is your favorite show on Amazon Prime?

I've been here a long time and one of the original (and weirdest) shows we did was called The Patriot. I loved it and highly recommend it. More recently I really enjoyed Mr and Mrs Smith. Donald Glover may very well be the coolest person on the planet.

Andrew Bennet has been a Shakti Titan since 2024. The Titan platform brings together a diverse group of established industry leaders who have built companies at scale to help startup founders with hands on support and world class mentorship.

1) Can you share a bit about your professional background and current role?

I'm a former television producer who pitched/wrote/edited news and sports programming for the NBA and HBO while living in New York. I had a bit of a premature mid-life crisis in my late 20s when I realized I did not have the constitution for a purely creative career (I still have nightmares about staring at an editing bay at 3 AM not having any idea how to fix what I was just created) and so I went back to school (NYU) and transitioned to a business focused role in media and entertainment. It's been a bit of a circuitous journey but now I'm leading Prime Video's business in the EU and the head of global distribution partnerships (i.e., Prime Video on Apple/Samsung/LG/etc). I recently relocated to London for the role with my wife and 2 kids.

2) How have advancements in on-device technology influenced Prime Video’s global footprint and your approach to product and partnership development?

The interesting dynamic from a partnership perspective is that many of the OEMs we work with have historically been laser focused on building the best hardware (e.g., Samsung/LG panels) and less focused on software development and expertise. Now that streaming (versus cable) is the most widely utilized form of media consumption on these devices (and hardware margins have compressed) they have had to pivot quickly to building best in class operating systems that support a variety of new and complex technologies (low latency streaming for live sports, dynamic ad insertion, etc). So whereas our relationships in the past used to be highly transactional (take our porting kit and just put our app on your box)--now we deeply engage on forward looking plans with all partners (including down to the chip manufacturers) to collaborate in a mutually beneficial way to create best in class experiences (content discovery, low latency, etc) and drive monetization.

I believe that a healthy distribution ecosystem for competition and innovation is a result of having a broad range of players and that's what's happening in the living room right now--if you have a moment check out some of the announcements at CES--it's a really interesting space IMO that will learn from some of the challenges that occurred in mobile.

3) Throughout your career, you've successfully negotiated numerous deals and built key partnerships. What guidance would you offer to founders as they navigate forming partnerships and handling negotiations?

It's not an original idea (see Getting to Yes) but always focus on interests versus positions in deals. Take the time to know what's truly important for your customers and your business and ensure you protect those interests but always be flexible in the negotiation as to how you do that. Focusing on positions results in binary/stand-off dynamics that result in zero-sum outcomes (those typically lead to tense relationships). When trying to grow and foster healthy relationships you also always want to put yourself in the shoes of the person on the other side of the table (both the individual and the organization) and try to not only understand their interests during a negotiation but anticipate their approach; this tactic limit emotionally charged reactions to term sheets which can derail negotiations. Lastly try to find a true partner/advocate on the other side of the table that you can have candid/off the record conversations with about how best to navigate each of your respective stakeholders.

4) What inspired you to become a Shakti Titan and what are you excited about as you engage with the Shakti community?

Like many others at this stage of a career, I'd like to start giving back. I'm highly passionate about mentoring younger talent and sharing what I've learned after 25+ years in the media and entertainment business. Further I'm super curious about emerging technologies and love the idea of having access to the folks who will be disrupting and innovating the status quo. In general though I just like talking to really smart and ambitious people and they are not hard to find in this community.

5) Amazon's 14 Leadership principles are often studied by aspiring business leaders who seek to understand and emulate the success of this company that started as a bookstore in Jeff Bezos's garage in 1995. Which of these principles are most important for start up founders to keep in mind?

After 12+ years at Amazon I can tell you first hand these principles work. It's remarkable. I was skeptical at first when I read them but now I use them every single day. “Earns Trust” is by far my favorite as I believe it encapsulates most of the others. If you are (among others) customer obsessed, diving deep, are right a lot, biasing for action--you will earn the trust of others. In my experience once you've earned someone's trust it enables things to scale quickly as you aren't spending time questioning motivations/depth of knowledge/general competency/etc--you can spend all your time and energy on solving problems together.

6) Speaking of Amazon & video... what is your favorite show on Amazon Prime?

I've been here a long time and one of the original (and weirdest) shows we did was called The Patriot. I loved it and highly recommend it. More recently I really enjoyed Mr and Mrs Smith. Donald Glover may very well be the coolest person on the planet.

Andrew Bennet has been a Shakti Titan since 2024. The Titan platform brings together a diverse group of established industry leaders who have built companies at scale to help startup founders with hands on support and world class mentorship.