DSF: Tell us about yourself and what made you go to Transylvania University.
SB: I was born and raised in Ashland, Kentucky, and wanted to stay somewhat close to home for college. I didn’t want to take out a bunch of loans and burden myself and my parents to pay for college, and Transylvania offered me a scholarship, which is now called the William T. Young Scholarship – a four-year full ride scholarship to the university, so I went there.
DSF: What was your major while at Transy?
SB: I was a computer science major with a business minor.
DSF: Tell us about how you were introduced to the Beta Mu Chapter.
SB: My cousin, Tony Blanton, and I grew up together and went to the same high school. He was a few years older than me, and he introduced me to the fraternity. Tony was involved in the chapter, and through him, I got to know a bunch of the guys, and I decided to join.
DSF: You served as chapter secretary and president during your time in the chapter. What
were those experiences like?
SB: Well, I think one reason I became the chapter’s secretary is because I might have been the only guy in the chapter with a computer in my room – a Commodore 64 – and so I was the logical choice to type up the meeting minutes.
I became president of the chapter my senior year. The Beta Mu chapter had lots of brothers who were leaders on campus, which developed a culture of leadership within the chapter. I was essentially the leader of a group of other leaders. I, like many others, made a lot of mistakes, but it was a great learning experience.
DSF: Tell us about your extensive career thus far.
SB: I started out while still at Transylvania working for IBM writing code for their mainframes. Upon graduation, I spent three years at the NCR Corp. in Atlanta writing cash register software for six months, and then managing people who were writing code. That quick step up was partially because of my experience in managing people in the fraternity. Following those three years, I moved to Seattle and worked for Microsoft first as a “technical evangelist,” a position in which I went around the world to talk to people about utilizing Microsoft products. Later I also lead the program management team for the multimedia technology in Windows 95 and Windows NT. Following that, I went to Harvard Business School and got my MBA and did a few startups as well.
DSF: Where did you go after you graduated from Harvard Business School?
SB: Upon graduation, I went to work for Real Networks, where I oversaw the development of four versions of the Real Player product. I also managed our relationships with ISPs and cable internet providers as well, leaving there in 2002. I then went to Sony Pictures, where I ran technology for Sony Pictures’ Internet and digital media group. For the last two years, I have run Sony Media Software, the software area of Sony which includes video editing products and more.
DSF: And you currently work for Sony Connect? Tell us about that.
SB: Just recently, I was named Senior Vice President and General Manager of Sony Connect, Sony’s digital media service. Sony Connect provides digital media downloads for Sony’s devices like the Walkman and PlayStation Portable. For decades, Sony has been known for making great devices from a hardware standpoint, but hasn’t been as successful in the software for these digital media devices. This is where I’m trying to make a difference.
DSF: Talk to us about where you want to end up, and your goals for the future.
SB: I feel as though we all have that itch to grow something from scratch, some kind of startup, so I could see myself doing something like that. However, as long as I can satisfy that urge by doing something entrepreneurial within Sony, and as long as I feel challenged, I will be here. There’s an amazing amount of talent and opportunity here when you look at all our
resources – Sony Pictures, Sony BMG music, Sony Ericsson, PlayStation, Walkman, Bravia TVs, VAIO personal computers and more.
DSF: Back to your Fraternity experience, what was one thing you learned that you have
utilized most in your post-graduate days?
SB: I learned a great deal of listening skills. To go from a small town to college, I realized quickly that I wasn’t the smartest guy in the world. I realized that I needed to sit there and learn how to listen to people in order to relate to them. In addition, I feel as though through the fraternity, I lost a lot of fear in being in front of people, which helped me a lot.
DSF: Who has had the greatest impact on you throughout your life?
SB: Personally, my mother and father have had a huge impact. Professionally, probably one of my first bosses at Microsoft named Rick Segal. He taught me a lot of how to deal with people both inside and outside of the company. We’re still friends to this day. I have a lot of admiration for people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, and the things they have accomplished. Without the work they did to build the technology industry, I might have never left Kentucky.
DSF: What advice would you give to undergraduates about being successful?
SB: Be fearless. What I mean by that is, know the downside of something and embrace that in figuring out the best path. So many people are afraid that if they stand up for something, there will be consequences. If you learn how to be fearless in the right way, and the respectful way, you will go far.
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