What is your role and what does it entail? 

I’m the Senior Business Affairs Manager and I’ve been with the company since September 2017. I mostly look after negotiations and deals for commissioned programs, mostly drama series, for both Network 10 and Paramount+. Once the Programming department, headed by Dan and Bev, have agreed to the broad, key points of a deal, they hand over to me to paper the deal and work out the finer points with each producer and the different stakeholders in the business. To put it simply, the role is all about rights and money; what we pay for rights and how to maximise those rights for a greater return on investment. We’re always looking to optimise our rights in an ever-changing media landscape. I work closely with Legal in ensuring that each contract captures all aspects of the deal and is legally compliant and enforceable. I spend a lot of my day either drafting contracts and emails and pouring over existing contracts to interpret them and share the interpretation with the business. I get a lot of enquiries, and I’ve jokingly dubbed myself the ‘business affairs hotline’. 

What do you love most about working at Paramount? 

The people. Hands down, the people. I love the people I work with. People at work have become like a second family. We get work done but we also hang out, go to lunch, share life experiences, sing, make music, encourage each other, laugh and cry. It’s crazy but that is work. I think that’s also a testament to a good work/life balance. I also love the variety of work. We are very uniquely placed in this market to straddle both a free to air television network as well as a subscription video-on-demand service. There is never a dull moment, that’s for sure. I also love that I feel comfortable and confident in bringing my authentic self to work every day. 

You are a member of Paramount’s PROUD ERG. Why was it important to you to be part of this group? 

I’m only a very new baby member of the PROUD ERG, taking my first tentative steps. I believe it’s important to be part of this group because this group exists, because it doesn’t in every workplace. Paramount has put its money where its mouth is on the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) front. The ERG provides a platform for staff engagement to do more than pay lip service to a company policy but makes the policy come to life in the best way we, the staff, think possible and see fit according to our location. What might be a good idea and work for staff and for staff engagement in a European Paramount office might not be the best idea or connect with staff in Paramount’s Australian offices. And I have a couple of ideas I think worthy. Plus the existing members of the team are great, passionate and committed and I look forward to working alongside them. 

What’s your proudest career moment so far? 

So many to choose from! Being a part of the launch of ABC3, the dedicated kids channel, when I worked at the ABC. Being involved in some landmark legal cases at the ABC. Being involved in bringing Neighbours back. Working on all 4 seasons of Five Bedrooms, including converting season 2 from a free to air commission to a Paramount+ commission at the beginning of the covid pandemic, working with a variety of stakeholders that I thought would never agree but did. Seeing NCIS: Sydney and Top Gear Australia from ideation to launch was also very satisfying. 

Who is the Andrew Djemal outside of Paramount? Where would we find you on the weekends?

Walking my five-year-old beagle Baltha around the Eastern Suburbs, followed by the beach. Tamarama or North Bondi. I love hanging out at the beach, reading under a beach umbrella all day and taking frequent dips, bodysurfing and catching waves. The beach is my happy place. I’m a big fan of brunching and great coffee too. I love seeing films on the big screen, so I try and get to the cinema as much as possible. I love the performing arts, so I see live music, contemporary and classical, as well as a load of musical theatre, both professional and amateur productions. It’s not unheard of that I go to the Sydney Opera House 3 times in the one week. One Sunday a month I attend an all-day rehearsal for the choir that I sing with, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir (https://www.sglc.org/). I’m a Bass 2 in case you were wondering. We have a performance coming up at the end of October. Come and check it out (https://www.sglc.org/event/echoesofpride/)