October 11, 2024 • 24 mins
Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald, interviewed Paul Rainey.
He holds a powerful executive role in the media world, shaping the future of iconic brands like Billboard, Rolling Stone, and SXSW.
🏆 Paul Rainey’s Executive Career at Penske Media Corporation (PMC)
Current Role
- Executive Vice President of Operations and Finance at Penske Media Corporation (PMC).
- Oversees operations and financial strategy for Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Vibe, SXSW, and more.
- Provides strategic input across PMC’s global media brands and live events, including the Billboard Music Awards, SXSW, and American Music Awards.
Key Responsibilities
- Leads financial decision-making, acquisitions, and operational procedures across PMC’s portfolio.
- Serves on several boards, including as Audit Committee Chair of Redaptive, Inc. and a Director at SXSW.
Background & Education
- Holds a Master of Science in Accountancy and a BBA in Finance and Computer Applications from the University of Notre Dame.
- Formerly held leadership roles at General Electric, Global Eagle, and Harris CapRock Communications, managing billion-dollar operations across five continents.
📘 About PMC & Cultural Influence
PMC is a global media powerhouse, reaching over 350 million people monthly. Its brands shape culture through journalism, entertainment, and live events, including SXSW
Paul Rainey is a rare blend of creative storyteller and corporate strategist, bridging the worlds of graphic novels and global media leadership. Whether he’s crafting a sci-fi twist in a comic or guiding the future of Billboard and SXSW, his influence is both wide-reaching and deeply personal. Let me know if you’d like a visual timeline of his career or a deeper dive into one of his roles. 🎬📈✨
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to the show. I am Rashan McDonald, the host
of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to
stop reading other people's success stories and start planning their own.
Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs from around the country,
talk to celebrities and ask them how they are running
their companies, and speak with god profits who are making
(00:25):
a difference in their local communities. Now, sit back and
listen as we unlock the secrets to their success on
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Hello, this is Rashan McDonald. Thank you,
thank you, thank you for joining us the fiftieth anniversary
twenty twenty four Fall Membership Benefits Drive. I'm hosting this out.
I'm also hosting Money Making Conversations Masterclass. I have two
(00:49):
fantastic guests that are joining me on the show today.
I am Rashan McDonald. I host the weekly Money Making
Conversation Masterclass show. The interviews and information that this show
provides offer everyone. It's time to start reading other people's
success stories and start living your own. I'm here to
help you reach your American dream. Just keep listening. If
you want to be a guest on my show, please
(01:11):
visit Moneymakingconversation dot Com and click the BS guest button
and fill out your information. It'll be emailed to me
and I consider you to be a guest on this show.
The guest I'm about to introduce you did not fill
out a BS guest form. I met him in Austin,
Texas at the south By Southwest event. Let me give
give you a little background on him. He serves as
(01:33):
the executive vice President of Operations and Finance for Penske
Media Corporation that's PMC. In this role, he oversees all
operations and financial decision makers affecting the various operating companies
across pmc's portfolio of award winning brands. Check out some
of the brands, y'all get closer to this Radio rolling Stone,
(01:59):
bill Board Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Vibe, the Rob Report,
she S h E Media, Dick Clark Productions, Illuminate, Sporty Coal,
and south By Southwest. That's where I met him. Please
welcome to the Money Making Conversation Masterclass. Paul Raining.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
How you know, Paul, I'm doing very well. Thanks so
much for having me on the show.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I didn't set you up too big, did that?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Paul, No, no, I appreciate, you know, giving up flowers
while I'm still living. Well.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
You know, here's the great thing about it, Paul, you
got more to do, you know. And but we're gonna
talk about this journey. When I say things like that,
and you're an African American man, does it? Does there's
a journey to get there? Can you give us your
academic background and how how you got this all started
(02:50):
to get to this point. I know this is going
to be steps, but I want to get to the
opening south of your academic training.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Yeah, you know, I would say my first training was
at home, thank you, from a large family and a
rural part of Arkansas, Cleveland, Arkansas, with fifteen brothers and sisters.
And know, my dad had his own logging company, So
starting out at a very early age really learning how
to treat other people, treat clients, and just really learn
about business from that perspective at home from him and
(03:18):
my mom. But then I did go into the University
of Notre Dame and received a bachelor's in finance and
computer applications and then got a master's in accounting at
the University of Notre Dame as well.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Now let's talk about to your father. That's entrepreneurship, right,
a business, small business owner in Arkansas.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Yeah, absolutely, entrepreneurship. You know, he did a lot of
different things, whether it was early in his life. You know,
he's talking about the nineteen forties fifties, helping people get
out to the workplaces, whether that's a sawmill or out
into the fields. And then he dis continued that journey
on to tarten his own logging company for over twenty
five years.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
That's that's really amazing. I always hear these stories about,
you know, black men because we know Arkansas rule and
I'm from the south eastern Texas, so I understand racism.
I understand areas of the country that treat black people
a little bit different and certain situations, especially when they
don't consider us deep to be equal. And he was
(04:14):
being successful on entrepreneur in an time period in a
area of country that one would say, wow, how was
he able to pull that off? Paul? If you can
share that information with.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
My audience, you know what I say. One, you know,
he had courage, you know, the courage to be the
first man to go into the bank and ask for
a loan.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
You know, the.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Courage to step up in his community and try to
offer a service when when no one else was providing
that services in our community or outside of community, making
sure people could get to the workplace. So I would say,
just the courage and then leaning in on the community
and being a part of the community. And I think
the community leaned into him. And I think that especially
(04:57):
in that time, the courts of his own own family,
his own community and then having the courage to step
out there when no one else was really helped us
do that early on in his life.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Now, I'll tell you something that Paul, I come from
a big family. Now I'm not I'm not tapping into
your size now, six sisters, two brothers now, And I
always tell people that, you know, usually from an income standpoint,
a little bit up the food change mind. My parents
were my father was a truck driver. Mamble was stay
at home mom, and but it was it was something
(05:28):
about growing around a lot of kids that that that
creates a certain bond I had. Like I said, I
had six sisters and two brothers. What was the dynamics
of growing up in a family their size and what
did you line up in that number of fifteen kids
their Paul.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, I'm towards the end there.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
So you had the better clothes.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
You had the better clothes, well a little bit better.
That didn't hnd me down for quite a while, man.
And then it was only a few of us at home.
But no, it was a privilege to have. You know, really,
I consider like so many and dads growing up from
my older siblings who just really looked after me and
helped raise me and really poured into me at an
early age. But you're right, just that the community is
(06:09):
sticking together and helping each other be our best.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
But you know it was as you can imagine. We
we had our fun. It was very competitive as well,
whether it's for classroom and again that also propelled us
to be better as well, just pushing each other. Uh,
you know, it's fun. We still get together at large
holidays and scenes of that. It was just a fun
time to be together.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Put the where you all your family is a family reunion,
you know. You you know, you have to gather rowed
by a lot of people, A lot of people just
show up with your family, show up.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
You know what I'm saying, Paul, No, that's what I
tell people usually is a family reunion fourth of July.
Once you and all the in laws and nieces and
nephews to get to a large number of pretty fast,
well let me.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Let let's talk about you know before, like I said
talking to Paul, you know, uh, you know, financial decision
maker for a lot of great brands at PMC. I
said them earlier, but I still they're still worth mentioning
brands like Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Vibe,
rob Report, Sheet Media, Dick Clark Productions, illuminate Sportic and
(07:11):
south By Southwest, which is incredibly That's where I met
you at Tell everybody about what exactly is south By Southwest, Paul.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
You know, south By Southwest is probably one of the
largest events in the world where you bring technology, music, film,
and education and culture in a lot of ways together,
where you have a diverse people and diverse thought and
just people with different experiences come together and you have
this unexpected discovery that happened though it started off thirty
five years ago where when people would leave Austin, Texas,
(07:45):
you know, the college town University of Texas, and all
the bars would be empty, and so they started bringing
in music bands just to entertain people and fill up
the community that was empty at the time. And then
that started morphing into bringing in no film and that
started the film Festival, and then we started bringing in
more and more speakers to really help in education and
(08:06):
other side where there's technology. You know, some of the
biggest technology firms that are out there, they were kind
of had that founding and start there. So it has
really grown organically as the Austin community has grown. And
that's the place where now we go and over you know,
hundreds of thousands of people are interacting there with all
the events with you know, eleven days of music, uh,
(08:29):
thousands of bands, film festivals and world premieres that are
happening there. And again still some of the greatest political
uh speakers and leaders of our time will come there
and grace the stage.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Yeah, it's an amazing event, ladies and gentlemen. Uh. You know,
it's interesting when Paul describes it because it's it doesn't
sound no, he's a good story telling bum Me tell
you'll something huge he put toward huge. Tis. In fact,
seven a Smith broadcast his show their Live and it
was part of the Softwest by Softwest event as well.
As other premier movies. You know, you've heard a lot
(09:03):
of great events Sundance. It's kind of like a combination
of a Sundance film festival, a comic con, and then
you have the Then you're in the heart of the Austin,
Texas with the capital of the state of Texas. You
have of mega sized, massive University of Texas footprint right there,
(09:24):
so it's just a collective. Then it just has great food.
It's a city field with great food, and you throw
all that combination and all that culture and you really, really, Paul,
have a true diverse environment, and I think that's what
makes it special.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Correct, No, absolutely, just bringing in that diversity of people
from industry and experiences where you never know who you're
going to bump into, whether it's the CEO of a
major studio or the CEO of a technology company and
someone who just starting up their own business and just
have these relationships they're able to form just from these
superndicinous interactions.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
You know, as we talk about this similar backgrounds in
the sense that you know, I come from a community,
a large family African American, and then I went to
a predominantly white school and my school was University of Houston,
And I'm not saying it was a culture shock, but
I do know that my entire life up to that
(10:20):
point was basically black. My entire life, but I knew
that in order for me to succeed, I had to
have a good understanding of how the world worked and
how people communicated. Talk about your transition from your environment,
not saying that you came from an all black environment
like I did, but you did come from an environment
(10:40):
where your parents were successful, a large black family, but
also from a rural community to Notre Dame, which we
know is one of the elite universities in this country
Florid George pot Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
I would say certainly a very rural American centric upbringing.
For the first aid eighteen years of my life. My
eyes were opened a little bit as I went to
the University of Notre Dame, which, as you can imagine,
a national campus people from all over the country. And
you're right, was a small a minority in this large
sea of majority, and it really helps you hone your
(11:17):
voice of who you are in that environment. But I
would say my largest learning is when I first left
the University of Notre Dame and started working with General Electric.
I went through about four years of training programs with
the General Electric Company and worked in five of the
seven continents around the world. So that experience where I
think I became a whole lot less American centric, really
(11:39):
got goose to the global perspective now as a black person,
not just a black American experience, which is so similar
to blacks and people of African descent all over the world.
And seeing that perspective, that's when it really began to
open up my eyes of just kind of the plight
of our community locally and globally and the power of
(12:00):
our community.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
We'll be right back with more Money Making Conversation Master Class.
My guess, Paul Rainey, he's the executive vice president, not
gonna mess up his titles Executive vice President of Operation
and Finance for Penske Media Corporation. Be right back.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations Masterclass, hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
(12:39):
Conversations Masterclass on Facebook. Twitter and Instagram.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
My guess is Paul Rainey. He is the executive vice
president of Operations and Finance for Penskey Media Corporation. Paul,
excuse me, Paul. When you talk about success, you talk
about the individual who's risen to the level of where
you at. You know, we came from humbles even though
your father was an entrepreneur, and fifteen siblings went to
(13:06):
from a rural community to a massive, popular university called
the University of not your dame there. And now you
talk about navigating in today's environment, that work balance, that
work life balance, because you have a lot of things
that you have to deal with and a lot of
brands that are like got the word A in the
(13:26):
let up in the plus next room A plus brands?
How do you handle that work life balance?
Speaker 2 (13:34):
You know, for me is something that's always a challenge
to get the prioritization right. But you know I handled
me personally the same way. When people asking me for
professional advice, I tell them like, I won't give you
any professional advice until you tell me what your personal
goals are, because I can give you a professional advice
that will wreck your personal life and you might be
the CEO of a company. But you know your kids
(13:56):
don't like your spouse is going away. So I try
to live by the same model myself, just really keeping
at the forefront of my mind. What are my personal goals,
My relationship with my wife of twenty one years here
on Friday, you know, my relationship with my three teenage children,
and know in my family, my sending family that I
still want to have meaningful relationship with and friends. So
(14:18):
for me, it is sometimes we'll see imbalance when I'm
on the road for ten days or days at a time,
but it's something that I that I keep in mind.
You know, the prioritization of those relationships are the ones
that are most important to me, and I have to
make sure that I'm investing the time and energy in
those relationships if I want them to continue to thrive.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
No, you said your kids with ten you can I
ask how old they are? You say that teens?
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Uh yeah, seventeen, fifteen and twelve, almost thirteen or soon.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
You know, we all know about internship, being able to
have a door open. That's how I got into a
lot of opportunities. Do you see do you are your
kids interesting in the area of success? That you are
achieving because you've got so many options here. You know,
popular magazines, you have production companies, you know, you have
live live event and activations. There's so many options. Have
(15:13):
you kids even do they have a clear understanding what
their father is doing to consider their available options that
you can probably you know, get you know, guide them
into possible career opportunities.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
You know, no, absolutely, I exposed them to some of
the events. I will take my kids with you on
their tent and they kind of give them a sense
of what I do at my job and what my
brand do the brands do. But also I feel a
service and advisor and a consultant and on whether it's
on board of directors or things of that nature of companies,
and I share and even helping my own son who
(15:47):
is starting his own entrepreneurial endeavors and encouraging that and
giving him an investment in a company that he wants
to do. Maybe it starts off small, but even when
I do that, I say, hey, listen, you can get
these fine answers in several different ways. You know, this
is how much you can do if you went and
bought it from a credit card. This is how much
you do it if you went and bought it from
(16:07):
a bank, you know, if you get it for me,
that's called venture capital. I am investing in you in
that rate is typically going to be this much of
a return. And so now I might believe in you
more than a credit card company or a bank. But
start to sow those seeds of how business works, how
the world works, so when they see it later in life,
it's not foreign to them and they know how to
(16:29):
navigate those risk and opportunities.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Wow, you do you smile when you're talking to it, because,
like you said, my daughter, when she talks to me
about business or talks about career, I always lighten up
a little bit. What are your thoughts when your kids
come to you and you realize that you know, your
father laid the season to you because you were He
was an entrepreneur, so you saw it. You saw what
hard work can do. You saw how a black man,
(16:56):
despite the odds, despite people telling them what they can't do,
what can be achieved because you're doing it right now,
you're doing incredible things. And their dad is their dad?
Talk to us about that?
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yeah, you know, I want to instill in them that
you know that everybody is an independent you know, contractor
if you will. It's I view myself like and you
have to be entrepreneur. Whether you're working at a company
forty hours a week, what are the other things that
you're doing so that you're not putting all your eggs
in one basket with that company. And we all have
this creative innovation inside of us. So you know, as
(17:30):
a father, I want to continue to instill in them
the gifts and my kids have very different gifts, So
me looking into their life and encouraging the ways that
they are, the strengths that they do have, and where
they have more creativity in one era of another, so
that they don't lose sight of that, because the world
has a way of trying to take you down conson
and you have to believe in yourself and so I
(17:51):
want them to be able to identify those strengths and
lean into those strengths and always have different things that
they know they can go do regardless of what a
company or a studio or a label comes back and
tells them. They can have their own and a drive
to go and achieve the goals that they want to have.
So that is very important to do that as a
(18:11):
parent as well, and to be that mentor.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
I'm telling you that that's incredible. I get that my daughter,
she works for my wife and our company, and I
convinced her to come work for us, and she tells
me every day this is the greatest move that she's
done in her young life with to come under and
be mentored by me. And that's interesting because that's what
I've been doing all my life, is mentoring. I want
(18:35):
to use the word stranger of the people that didn't
know and by giving them advice and by this is
a show about mentorship. And when I when I crack
the mic every Tuesday, every time I podcast adds, anytime
my voice is heard on an HBCU campus, hopefully I'm
providing mentorship. But here's the thing you hear a lot, Paul,
the word passion. People always talk about passion. Follow your passion,
(18:57):
how to can one pursue passion? And I'm sure what
you doing is pursuing your passion and pay bills.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Yeah, you know you have to balance it out because
you do have to pay the bills now, but also
thinking about ways that you can lean in the things
that you're creatively good at and how you can. That's
usually what you're gonna love to do, and you're gonna
work harder at those things. And the things that I
like to tell people early in your career, try to
(19:25):
expose yourself to many different things. You'll see things that
you like, and you see things that you don't like,
but you also may find an avenue the things that
you're passionate about that can connect in the job market
in a way that you weren't even aware of, but
just because you have that exposure to that experience early
on in your career. But it is one where you
have to really balance that and it takes a long time.
(19:48):
You have to continue to invest in yourself and those
pass that you have, because you know, if you don't
take control of your own career, no one will care
about your career more than you, and so you have
to be in the driver's seat of that. And that
includes all of the different various passions that you have
about how you want to achieve that as well. But
I do think it's just be patient with yourself, give
(20:10):
yourself time, make those small investments over time so you
can continue to build up the momentum and then you'll
be surprised when you look down the road with that
intentionality of how your passions begin to align with what
you're doing in your everyday job as well.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
I'm gonna tell y'all something. You've heard the word the man.
You know, you say he is the man, she is
the one. You know, I am talking to the man.
You can actually give the man title to Paul Rady
when you're saying he overseeing brands, operations and finances for
Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Five, Rob Report,
(20:50):
Sporty Code, Dick Clark Production, She Media, which is She?
And then the incredible multi day event south By Southwest.
As we close out this interview, Paul Wealth Building give
our audience some advice on generating keys and keys to
investing not only in yourself but also hopefully in some
(21:12):
financial options. Not trying to tell them what stock to pick,
but that the terms of how one does it over
a long period of time.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Yeah, I think the point you said at the end
is most important over a long period of time, and
so it really starts off with that dynamic of budgeting
and just really having the self control to spend less
than you make and do that over a long period
of time and then you invest and you invest in
a diversity of things very early, and I would say
(21:40):
as you begin to build up those multiple revenue streams
of the call of people call it passive income. But
just think about those ways that again that you can
continue to lean into your passions, lean in the things
that your strengths that you have, so that maybe it
is you may own run on property, maybe it is
that you're investing in that get back divotings and things
(22:01):
of that nature, but you're allowing yourself on opportunity to
have multiple things that can provide income for you. You know,
a lot of people have a lot of work experience
and expertise and they undervalue it because they can be
doing advising services to other people that can come along
and help them along the way. And it always doesn't
have to be cash in return. Like I advise some
(22:23):
companies today and I'll say, hey, listen, give me a
stake in the company and I will help you grow
your company a longer time. But when you do that
small stole in those seats earlier on, you know the
payback will be greater because you let them grow in.
As that company grows, you look up and now you
own equity in an entity. And so those are the
(22:45):
things that I would say is number one. You know
that however you want to budget, but just spend less
than you make. That's how you create wealth over time,
investing over a long period of time. It doesn't happen overnight,
and just making sure you have a diverse to the
things that you're working with and you'll be surprised at
how that momentum and the compound and interest in returns
(23:06):
will grow over time.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
My man, Paul Rainey brother, I know you're busy, and
in fact, you took time to talk to my audience
Money Making Conservations master Class. That's my show, the show
I mentor people who call in, people who stop me
and say thank you, I say thank you, thank you
for taking time to come on my show and give
worldly advice, international advice, advice that as an African American man,
(23:31):
you out there making a difference and raising a family
where you're mentoring kids to make a difference in our future.
Thank you for coming on Money Making Conversation Masterclass. Paul.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Now, thank you so much for the opportunity
Welcome to the show. I am Rashan McDonald, the host
of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to
stop reading other people's success stories and start planning their own.
Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs from around the country,
talk to celebrities and ask them how they are running
their companies, and speak with god profits who are making
(00:25):
a difference in their local communities. Now, sit back and
listen as we unlock the secrets to their success on
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Hello, this is Rashan McDonald. Thank you,
thank you, thank you for joining us the fiftieth anniversary
twenty twenty four Fall Membership Benefits Drive. I'm hosting this out.
I'm also hosting Money Making Conversations Masterclass. I have two
(00:49):
fantastic guests that are joining me on the show today.
I am Rashan McDonald. I host the weekly Money Making
Conversation Masterclass show. The interviews and information that this show
provides offer everyone. It's time to start reading other people's
success stories and start living your own. I'm here to
help you reach your American dream. Just keep listening. If
you want to be a guest on my show, please
(01:11):
visit Moneymakingconversation dot Com and click the BS guest button
and fill out your information. It'll be emailed to me
and I consider you to be a guest on this show.
The guest I'm about to introduce you did not fill
out a BS guest form. I met him in Austin,
Texas at the south By Southwest event. Let me give
give you a little background on him. He serves as
(01:33):
the executive vice President of Operations and Finance for Penske
Media Corporation that's PMC. In this role, he oversees all
operations and financial decision makers affecting the various operating companies
across pmc's portfolio of award winning brands. Check out some
of the brands, y'all get closer to this Radio rolling Stone,
(01:59):
bill Board Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Vibe, the Rob Report,
she S h E Media, Dick Clark Productions, Illuminate, Sporty Coal,
and south By Southwest. That's where I met him. Please
welcome to the Money Making Conversation Masterclass. Paul Raining.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
How you know, Paul, I'm doing very well. Thanks so
much for having me on the show.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I didn't set you up too big, did that?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Paul, No, no, I appreciate, you know, giving up flowers
while I'm still living. Well.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
You know, here's the great thing about it, Paul, you
got more to do, you know. And but we're gonna
talk about this journey. When I say things like that,
and you're an African American man, does it? Does there's
a journey to get there? Can you give us your
academic background and how how you got this all started
(02:50):
to get to this point. I know this is going
to be steps, but I want to get to the
opening south of your academic training.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Yeah, you know, I would say my first training was
at home, thank you, from a large family and a
rural part of Arkansas, Cleveland, Arkansas, with fifteen brothers and sisters.
And know, my dad had his own logging company, So
starting out at a very early age really learning how
to treat other people, treat clients, and just really learn
about business from that perspective at home from him and
(03:18):
my mom. But then I did go into the University
of Notre Dame and received a bachelor's in finance and
computer applications and then got a master's in accounting at
the University of Notre Dame as well.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Now let's talk about to your father. That's entrepreneurship, right,
a business, small business owner in Arkansas.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Yeah, absolutely, entrepreneurship. You know, he did a lot of
different things, whether it was early in his life. You know,
he's talking about the nineteen forties fifties, helping people get
out to the workplaces, whether that's a sawmill or out
into the fields. And then he dis continued that journey
on to tarten his own logging company for over twenty
five years.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
That's that's really amazing. I always hear these stories about,
you know, black men because we know Arkansas rule and
I'm from the south eastern Texas, so I understand racism.
I understand areas of the country that treat black people
a little bit different and certain situations, especially when they
don't consider us deep to be equal. And he was
(04:14):
being successful on entrepreneur in an time period in a
area of country that one would say, wow, how was
he able to pull that off? Paul? If you can
share that information with.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
My audience, you know what I say. One, you know,
he had courage, you know, the courage to be the
first man to go into the bank and ask for
a loan.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
You know, the.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Courage to step up in his community and try to
offer a service when when no one else was providing
that services in our community or outside of community, making
sure people could get to the workplace. So I would say,
just the courage and then leaning in on the community
and being a part of the community. And I think
the community leaned into him. And I think that especially
(04:57):
in that time, the courts of his own own family,
his own community and then having the courage to step
out there when no one else was really helped us
do that early on in his life.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Now, I'll tell you something that Paul, I come from
a big family. Now I'm not I'm not tapping into
your size now, six sisters, two brothers now, And I
always tell people that, you know, usually from an income standpoint,
a little bit up the food change mind. My parents
were my father was a truck driver. Mamble was stay
at home mom, and but it was it was something
(05:28):
about growing around a lot of kids that that that
creates a certain bond I had. Like I said, I
had six sisters and two brothers. What was the dynamics
of growing up in a family their size and what
did you line up in that number of fifteen kids
their Paul.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, I'm towards the end there.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
So you had the better clothes.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
You had the better clothes, well a little bit better.
That didn't hnd me down for quite a while, man.
And then it was only a few of us at home.
But no, it was a privilege to have. You know, really,
I consider like so many and dads growing up from
my older siblings who just really looked after me and
helped raise me and really poured into me at an
early age. But you're right, just that the community is
(06:09):
sticking together and helping each other be our best.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
But you know it was as you can imagine. We
we had our fun. It was very competitive as well,
whether it's for classroom and again that also propelled us
to be better as well, just pushing each other. Uh,
you know, it's fun. We still get together at large
holidays and scenes of that. It was just a fun
time to be together.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Put the where you all your family is a family reunion,
you know. You you know, you have to gather rowed
by a lot of people, A lot of people just
show up with your family, show up.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
You know what I'm saying, Paul, No, that's what I
tell people usually is a family reunion fourth of July.
Once you and all the in laws and nieces and
nephews to get to a large number of pretty fast,
well let me.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Let let's talk about you know before, like I said
talking to Paul, you know, uh, you know, financial decision
maker for a lot of great brands at PMC. I
said them earlier, but I still they're still worth mentioning
brands like Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Vibe,
rob Report, Sheet Media, Dick Clark Productions, illuminate Sportic and
(07:11):
south By Southwest, which is incredibly That's where I met
you at Tell everybody about what exactly is south By Southwest, Paul.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
You know, south By Southwest is probably one of the
largest events in the world where you bring technology, music, film,
and education and culture in a lot of ways together,
where you have a diverse people and diverse thought and
just people with different experiences come together and you have
this unexpected discovery that happened though it started off thirty
five years ago where when people would leave Austin, Texas,
(07:45):
you know, the college town University of Texas, and all
the bars would be empty, and so they started bringing
in music bands just to entertain people and fill up
the community that was empty at the time. And then
that started morphing into bringing in no film and that
started the film Festival, and then we started bringing in
more and more speakers to really help in education and
(08:06):
other side where there's technology. You know, some of the
biggest technology firms that are out there, they were kind
of had that founding and start there. So it has
really grown organically as the Austin community has grown. And
that's the place where now we go and over you know,
hundreds of thousands of people are interacting there with all
the events with you know, eleven days of music, uh,
(08:29):
thousands of bands, film festivals and world premieres that are
happening there. And again still some of the greatest political
uh speakers and leaders of our time will come there
and grace the stage.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Yeah, it's an amazing event, ladies and gentlemen. Uh. You know,
it's interesting when Paul describes it because it's it doesn't
sound no, he's a good story telling bum Me tell
you'll something huge he put toward huge. Tis. In fact,
seven a Smith broadcast his show their Live and it
was part of the Softwest by Softwest event as well.
As other premier movies. You know, you've heard a lot
(09:03):
of great events Sundance. It's kind of like a combination
of a Sundance film festival, a comic con, and then
you have the Then you're in the heart of the Austin,
Texas with the capital of the state of Texas. You
have of mega sized, massive University of Texas footprint right there,
(09:24):
so it's just a collective. Then it just has great food.
It's a city field with great food, and you throw
all that combination and all that culture and you really, really, Paul,
have a true diverse environment, and I think that's what
makes it special.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Correct, No, absolutely, just bringing in that diversity of people
from industry and experiences where you never know who you're
going to bump into, whether it's the CEO of a
major studio or the CEO of a technology company and
someone who just starting up their own business and just
have these relationships they're able to form just from these
superndicinous interactions.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
You know, as we talk about this similar backgrounds in
the sense that you know, I come from a community,
a large family African American, and then I went to
a predominantly white school and my school was University of Houston,
And I'm not saying it was a culture shock, but
I do know that my entire life up to that
(10:20):
point was basically black. My entire life, but I knew
that in order for me to succeed, I had to
have a good understanding of how the world worked and
how people communicated. Talk about your transition from your environment,
not saying that you came from an all black environment
like I did, but you did come from an environment
(10:40):
where your parents were successful, a large black family, but
also from a rural community to Notre Dame, which we
know is one of the elite universities in this country
Florid George pot Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
I would say certainly a very rural American centric upbringing.
For the first aid eighteen years of my life. My
eyes were opened a little bit as I went to
the University of Notre Dame, which, as you can imagine,
a national campus people from all over the country. And
you're right, was a small a minority in this large
sea of majority, and it really helps you hone your
(11:17):
voice of who you are in that environment. But I
would say my largest learning is when I first left
the University of Notre Dame and started working with General Electric.
I went through about four years of training programs with
the General Electric Company and worked in five of the
seven continents around the world. So that experience where I
think I became a whole lot less American centric, really
(11:39):
got goose to the global perspective now as a black person,
not just a black American experience, which is so similar
to blacks and people of African descent all over the world.
And seeing that perspective, that's when it really began to
open up my eyes of just kind of the plight
of our community locally and globally and the power of
(12:00):
our community.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
We'll be right back with more Money Making Conversation Master Class.
My guess, Paul Rainey, he's the executive vice president, not
gonna mess up his titles Executive vice President of Operation
and Finance for Penske Media Corporation. Be right back.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations Masterclass, hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
(12:39):
Conversations Masterclass on Facebook. Twitter and Instagram.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
My guess is Paul Rainey. He is the executive vice
president of Operations and Finance for Penskey Media Corporation. Paul,
excuse me, Paul. When you talk about success, you talk
about the individual who's risen to the level of where
you at. You know, we came from humbles even though
your father was an entrepreneur, and fifteen siblings went to
(13:06):
from a rural community to a massive, popular university called
the University of not your dame there. And now you
talk about navigating in today's environment, that work balance, that
work life balance, because you have a lot of things
that you have to deal with and a lot of
brands that are like got the word A in the
(13:26):
let up in the plus next room A plus brands?
How do you handle that work life balance?
Speaker 2 (13:34):
You know, for me is something that's always a challenge
to get the prioritization right. But you know I handled
me personally the same way. When people asking me for
professional advice, I tell them like, I won't give you
any professional advice until you tell me what your personal
goals are, because I can give you a professional advice
that will wreck your personal life and you might be
the CEO of a company. But you know your kids
(13:56):
don't like your spouse is going away. So I try
to live by the same model myself, just really keeping
at the forefront of my mind. What are my personal goals,
My relationship with my wife of twenty one years here
on Friday, you know, my relationship with my three teenage children,
and know in my family, my sending family that I
still want to have meaningful relationship with and friends. So
(14:18):
for me, it is sometimes we'll see imbalance when I'm
on the road for ten days or days at a time,
but it's something that I that I keep in mind.
You know, the prioritization of those relationships are the ones
that are most important to me, and I have to
make sure that I'm investing the time and energy in
those relationships if I want them to continue to thrive.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
No, you said your kids with ten you can I
ask how old they are? You say that teens?
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Uh yeah, seventeen, fifteen and twelve, almost thirteen or soon.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
You know, we all know about internship, being able to
have a door open. That's how I got into a
lot of opportunities. Do you see do you are your
kids interesting in the area of success? That you are
achieving because you've got so many options here. You know,
popular magazines, you have production companies, you know, you have
live live event and activations. There's so many options. Have
(15:13):
you kids even do they have a clear understanding what
their father is doing to consider their available options that
you can probably you know, get you know, guide them
into possible career opportunities.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
You know, no, absolutely, I exposed them to some of
the events. I will take my kids with you on
their tent and they kind of give them a sense
of what I do at my job and what my
brand do the brands do. But also I feel a
service and advisor and a consultant and on whether it's
on board of directors or things of that nature of companies,
and I share and even helping my own son who
(15:47):
is starting his own entrepreneurial endeavors and encouraging that and
giving him an investment in a company that he wants
to do. Maybe it starts off small, but even when
I do that, I say, hey, listen, you can get
these fine answers in several different ways. You know, this
is how much you can do if you went and
bought it from a credit card. This is how much
you do it if you went and bought it from
(16:07):
a bank, you know, if you get it for me,
that's called venture capital. I am investing in you in
that rate is typically going to be this much of
a return. And so now I might believe in you
more than a credit card company or a bank. But
start to sow those seeds of how business works, how
the world works, so when they see it later in life,
it's not foreign to them and they know how to
(16:29):
navigate those risk and opportunities.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Wow, you do you smile when you're talking to it, because,
like you said, my daughter, when she talks to me
about business or talks about career, I always lighten up
a little bit. What are your thoughts when your kids
come to you and you realize that you know, your
father laid the season to you because you were He
was an entrepreneur, so you saw it. You saw what
hard work can do. You saw how a black man,
(16:56):
despite the odds, despite people telling them what they can't do,
what can be achieved because you're doing it right now,
you're doing incredible things. And their dad is their dad?
Talk to us about that?
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yeah, you know, I want to instill in them that
you know that everybody is an independent you know, contractor
if you will. It's I view myself like and you
have to be entrepreneur. Whether you're working at a company
forty hours a week, what are the other things that
you're doing so that you're not putting all your eggs
in one basket with that company. And we all have
this creative innovation inside of us. So you know, as
(17:30):
a father, I want to continue to instill in them
the gifts and my kids have very different gifts, So
me looking into their life and encouraging the ways that
they are, the strengths that they do have, and where
they have more creativity in one era of another, so
that they don't lose sight of that, because the world
has a way of trying to take you down conson
and you have to believe in yourself and so I
(17:51):
want them to be able to identify those strengths and
lean into those strengths and always have different things that
they know they can go do regardless of what a
company or a studio or a label comes back and
tells them. They can have their own and a drive
to go and achieve the goals that they want to have.
So that is very important to do that as a
(18:11):
parent as well, and to be that mentor.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
I'm telling you that that's incredible. I get that my daughter,
she works for my wife and our company, and I
convinced her to come work for us, and she tells
me every day this is the greatest move that she's
done in her young life with to come under and
be mentored by me. And that's interesting because that's what
I've been doing all my life, is mentoring. I want
(18:35):
to use the word stranger of the people that didn't
know and by giving them advice and by this is
a show about mentorship. And when I when I crack
the mic every Tuesday, every time I podcast adds, anytime
my voice is heard on an HBCU campus, hopefully I'm
providing mentorship. But here's the thing you hear a lot, Paul,
the word passion. People always talk about passion. Follow your passion,
(18:57):
how to can one pursue passion? And I'm sure what
you doing is pursuing your passion and pay bills.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Yeah, you know you have to balance it out because
you do have to pay the bills now, but also
thinking about ways that you can lean in the things
that you're creatively good at and how you can. That's
usually what you're gonna love to do, and you're gonna
work harder at those things. And the things that I
like to tell people early in your career, try to
(19:25):
expose yourself to many different things. You'll see things that
you like, and you see things that you don't like,
but you also may find an avenue the things that
you're passionate about that can connect in the job market
in a way that you weren't even aware of, but
just because you have that exposure to that experience early
on in your career. But it is one where you
have to really balance that and it takes a long time.
(19:48):
You have to continue to invest in yourself and those
pass that you have, because you know, if you don't
take control of your own career, no one will care
about your career more than you, and so you have
to be in the driver's seat of that. And that
includes all of the different various passions that you have
about how you want to achieve that as well. But
I do think it's just be patient with yourself, give
(20:10):
yourself time, make those small investments over time so you
can continue to build up the momentum and then you'll
be surprised when you look down the road with that
intentionality of how your passions begin to align with what
you're doing in your everyday job as well.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
I'm gonna tell y'all something. You've heard the word the man.
You know, you say he is the man, she is
the one. You know, I am talking to the man.
You can actually give the man title to Paul Rady
when you're saying he overseeing brands, operations and finances for
Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Five, Rob Report,
(20:50):
Sporty Code, Dick Clark Production, She Media, which is She?
And then the incredible multi day event south By Southwest.
As we close out this interview, Paul Wealth Building give
our audience some advice on generating keys and keys to
investing not only in yourself but also hopefully in some
(21:12):
financial options. Not trying to tell them what stock to pick,
but that the terms of how one does it over
a long period of time.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Yeah, I think the point you said at the end
is most important over a long period of time, and
so it really starts off with that dynamic of budgeting
and just really having the self control to spend less
than you make and do that over a long period
of time and then you invest and you invest in
a diversity of things very early, and I would say
(21:40):
as you begin to build up those multiple revenue streams
of the call of people call it passive income. But
just think about those ways that again that you can
continue to lean into your passions, lean in the things
that your strengths that you have, so that maybe it
is you may own run on property, maybe it is
that you're investing in that get back divotings and things
(22:01):
of that nature, but you're allowing yourself on opportunity to
have multiple things that can provide income for you. You know,
a lot of people have a lot of work experience
and expertise and they undervalue it because they can be
doing advising services to other people that can come along
and help them along the way. And it always doesn't
have to be cash in return. Like I advise some
(22:23):
companies today and I'll say, hey, listen, give me a
stake in the company and I will help you grow
your company a longer time. But when you do that
small stole in those seats earlier on, you know the
payback will be greater because you let them grow in.
As that company grows, you look up and now you
own equity in an entity. And so those are the
(22:45):
things that I would say is number one. You know
that however you want to budget, but just spend less
than you make. That's how you create wealth over time,
investing over a long period of time. It doesn't happen overnight,
and just making sure you have a diverse to the
things that you're working with and you'll be surprised at
how that momentum and the compound and interest in returns
(23:06):
will grow over time.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
My man, Paul Rainey brother, I know you're busy, and
in fact, you took time to talk to my audience
Money Making Conservations master Class. That's my show, the show
I mentor people who call in, people who stop me
and say thank you, I say thank you, thank you
for taking time to come on my show and give
worldly advice, international advice, advice that as an African American man,
(23:31):
you out there making a difference and raising a family
where you're mentoring kids to make a difference in our future.
Thank you for coming on Money Making Conversation Masterclass. Paul.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Now, thank you so much for the opportunity
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