It’s a bittersweet day here at The Water Cooler with news that Paramount’s Creative Director, Rob Rosenberg, will be leaving us here in Australia and heading to Paramount’s motherland in the USA. Rob has accepted the role of Creative Director Global Brand and Originals, based in the town of year round sun, retirees, alligators and Mar-a-Lago. Otherwise known as Miami.
Mr. Worldwide himself sat down with the Cooler to tell us all about the process of relocating oversees with Paramount.
Tell us about your new role and the big move!
So, I’m going to be the alongside Sean Saylor (SVP Head of Creative). I’ll be supporting all the Paramount+ services across the world (including Australia), launching new markets, big title launches, and maintaining and evolving the brand.
Have you always had your heart set on moving to the US with Paramount or was it more of an opportunity too good to turn down?
It was kind of a perfect storm. Had this been a year ago, I wouldn’t have considered it. But my eldest daughter has just finished Year 12 and is heading to ANU in Canberra next year. I asked her if she would be OK with it and she responded, “100%. I’ll take my semester breaks in Miami!”
I love my job here in Australia, it’s a dream job, but I kind of live by the saying, “This isn’t a rehearsal”. The opportunity was just too great.
But to answer your question, I think all Australians have that “If you make it there, you’ve really made it” thing in the back of your mind, but it wasn’t something I was actively seeking out.
What was the process for applying for an international role?
I have weekly catch ups with Sean (SVP Head of Creative) and we’ve struck up a really good relationship, the role came up and we just started chatting.
But if anyone else does have ambitions for an overseas posting, I encourage them to register for the weekly Paramount Careers emails. Every week there’s 100s of postings across the globe.
That really is one of the advantages of now being part of a global company, the knocks of opportunity are deafening.
You have created some extraordinary content for Paramount, including the incredible AFL pitch reel. What’s been your personal highlight?
So many things, the AFL pitch reel was insane. The hours we put into that and the strings we had to pull were mind boggling.
But the launch of Paramount+ is right up there. Again, it was a huge undertaking in a very short time, but the most difficult roads lead to the most beautiful destinations and it was certainly a career highlight.
There’s some really special work underway for Last King of the Cross, that will no doubt be up there.
But then there’s the work we did for MTV and Nick, the music channels relaunch, The Veronica’s (memorable for so many reasons good and bad), Nick Toons Afternoons, the MTV “Really” Campaign and of course, Springdiculousness (those who know will know).
What will you miss most about home? Can we make a deal with you where we send you Twisties and Tim Tams in exchange for Twinkies and Reese’s Pieces?
I’ve already stocked up on Vegemite so covered there.
Of course my family but also our team here. We are blessed with not only some incredible talents but also incredible humans. We’re not colleagues, we’re friends, and it makes it all the harder.
Lastly, I’ll miss our dog. Oscar is 13, as a big dog he’s in his twilight years and his back legs are going, so sticking him in a crate for two days wouldn’t be fair. So, he’s staying with a friend who adores him. Going to be very tough to say goodbye.
