Interview with Emmy® Winner Daniel Chi

Last month I got to interview (via LinkedIn dm) Daniel Chi, a former ESPN media production associate and Warner Bros project manager who won multiple Emmy's.

After getting his permission to post the q&a, I opened the conversation by asking this: "When did you first become interested in project management and is winning the Emmy award something you always dreamed of?"

His response:

 "...Part 1 - I first became interested in PM in in late 2018. I never went to school for Project Management, but I realized that I was doing it everyday at my current job and just didn't have the official title. One of my best friends got a job at NBCSports as a PM, and he knew I was looking for new opportunities and basically recruited me. He got me super interested and that's when I started to focus more on PM work and shaping myself to make that transition.

"Part 2 - Winning an Emmy award was definitely not something I dreamed off, but it is most definitely an honor to have won so many. I loved what I did during my time at TNT, so it was more for the love of sports than Emmy to be honest. Also, I had no idea that I would even be included in such a prestigious honor of claiming not only 1, but multiple. 

I think when you love doing something and have passion, you don't think about the rewards or accolades, but just the amazing work you produced/put out there for millions of people to watch and the people you worked hard with... and to know your work made an impact, I think that is the reward in itself. So, I guess my answer is no, I never dreamed of it or started off a project thinking if it is an Emmy winning thing, it's worth it or its a fail, but did it for the love of the game if that makes sense. You always want to create something timeless and precious, and if you happen to win the top reward for it, that is just the cherry on the top."

My conclusion. He is one of the nicest people I have had a conversation with, very approachable, and inspiring. Daniel has a balanced mix of humility and accolades, not hiding his identity, but not flaunting it either.

My favorite snippet from the conversation is, "You always want to create something timeless and precious, and if you happen to win the top reward for it, that is just the cherry on the top."