Interview with Peter Reilly

Peter Reilly joined STV in September 2010 as Commercial Director. He has extensive broadcast experience, including 18 years working for ITV in commercial roles based in London and Leeds. Led by Peter, STV’s commercial division offers an innovative, multi-platform approach to advertising solutions, serviced from STV’s Scottish and London offices.

Peter has led the development and integration of STV’s extensive digital offering into the commercial portfolio, driving significant growth in the process, and established an in-house award-winning commercial production team, STV creative.

We caught up with Peter ahead of his speaker appearance at Industry Insights with STV on April 19. Tickets available here. 

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and background? (What route did you take to gain experience in the early years of your career?)

As ideal preparation to go into a world of advertising I studied to become an engineer. After deciding a life in extractive minerals was not for me I happily stumbled across a job in advertising sales which eventually turned into a career. Perhaps due to an engineering background I have always wanted to know how and why things worked. I constantly questioned why they were done the way they were. A good tip would be to constantly ask questions of others, find some smart peers and soak up information, meet some people smarter than you and learn from what they do.

What part of your job do you enjoy the most? And least?

Getting to bask in the reflected glory of a fabulous team who do all the hard work! And the worst? Dealing with bureaucracy.

You’ve worked at STV for over 7 years now, how has your role developed?

We’ve had lots of changes across the years at STV, hasn’t everyone? The big development for me though has been getting better at letting others do it their way. We succeed as a team and that means everyone we work with. We are focused on building a stronger Scottish economy and playing our part in that.

You are going to be speaking about the power of partnerships. What key factors do you feel are important to gain, and sustain effective relationships with your partners?

Trust and Transparency are paramount for me. Everyone needs to have an honest and open dialogue to identify what type, when and if a partnership is possible.

What is your top tip in keeping up with such a fast paced, and ever-changing environment?

We are all drowning in information overload, take some time out, go for a walk, let your brain grab some downtime to process. Come back raring to go!