ITV needs international presence

F0R children, Disney means magic. But for adults in the world of business, it has a reputation as a ferociously competitive outfit. So it is intriguing to note the rise of a quietly spoken mathematician from Surrey to become one of the most senior non-Americans running the world's best known media corporation.

David Hulbert, the 53-year-old president of Walt Disney Television International, is in charge of all the group's television businesses outside the US and, surprisingly, is based in Hammersmith, west London. It's a sign of Disney's international outlook, he says.

There is a giant black and silver Mickey Mouse figure attempting to lighten proceedings in the foyer, but on a cold winter's day it is hard to see that Hammersmith has advantages over California.

Hulbert, though, is in his element. Despite his almost academic air, this Cambridge maths graduate clearly thrives in one of the toughest, high-profile businesses in the world.

When he joined Disney in 1995, the international television operation employed about 50 people. Now there are more than 1,000 and its revenues are almost £1bn.

The television activities span 60 countries and Disney owns substantial holdings in national television networks, including a 25% stake in breakfast channel GMTV.

Hulbert admits he would like to increase Disney's stake in GMTV, but what about the newly merged ITV?

'It is not unattractive as an opportunity,' he admits with that typical British understatement that sounds strange from someone working for an American behemoth. 'ITV is interesting to anyone who is building a global media business.'

Hulbert says Disney is not stalking ITV, but he believes it could be a good partner. After all, if ITV wants to grow, it will need a big international presence.

He rejects the notion that American companies would crush native culture and flood the market with cheap US sitcoms and re-runs.

'It would be crazy not to go where the audience is and that means locally produced programming, which the UK is superb at making,' he says.

Hulbert's career shaped him well for his present role. After leaving Cambridge, he went to Lever Brothers before getting a scholarship to Stanford Business School in America, an unusual step at the time.

After graduating, he joined McKinsey, the American management consultancy, then Seagram, the Canadian drinks firm run by the flamboyant Edgar Bronfman Jnr, before starting his own consultancy.

Working for Bronfman no doubt prepared him well for Disney, where chairman and chief executive Michael Eisner could give any old-time Hollywood moguls a run for their money when it comes to ego. But Hulbert is quick to defend his boss.

'Certainly, there are big egos involved, but you need that in a creative business. Disney is what it is because of Michael.'

Disney has had a couple of blockbuster films recently. Finding Nemo took £465m at the box office while Pirates Of The Caribbean produced a swashbuckling £355m.

Yet all is not well at Mouseketeer headquarters. The last remaining Disney family member on the board, Roy Disney, has quit, complaining of Eisner's autocratic behaviour. And animation studio Pixar has just ended its agreement with Disney - one of the most successful collaborations in film history, producing such hits as Toy Story, A Bug's Life and Finding Nemo.

But Hulbert is sanguine about the future and is keen to pass on to his countrymen the lessons he has drawn from his experience.

'The UK television industry can be sniffy about the rest of the world,' he says, 'but television is a global market and Britons can be successful in this business.

'We have to measure ourselves against the best. If we didn't,' he quips, 'we'd all still be driving British Leyland cars.'