Charles Ogilvie has been instrumental in the development of Comspan China, Comspan's newest division that aims to expand its successful Russian operations across the border into the People's Republic of China.
In the television realm, Mr. Ogilvie is responsible for working to establish and maintain both production and distribution relationships with firms in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. On the live event side, Mr. Ogilvie works with Chinese promoters to bring Comspan's wide array of live events to China.
Prior to joining Comspan, Mr. Ogilvie was Vice President of Special Projects at Steeplechase Media, a new media company specializing in the development of interactive television (iTV) programming. In addition to working on production and planning for several Steeplechase developed niche networks, Mr. Ogilvie also authored a series of proposals detailing how the utilization and deployment of niche networks in developing countries would help to combat piracy. Mr. Ogilvie also has been involved with the Asian marketing efforts for Steeplechase designed networks offering multilingual capabilities.
Mr. Ogilvie worked for several startups and with multiple merger targets during the late 1990s and received extensive exposure to the venture funding and M&A process at that time. Prior to that, he spent a great deal of time living and working in China. In 1996 - 1997 he served as a Commercial Assistant in the Commercial Section of the US Consulate in Shanghai, China. He was a Control Officer during former Vice President of the United States Al Gore's visit to China in 1997.
In 1997, Mr. Ogilvie was host and co-producer for a televised "Friendship Trip" across portions of mainland China, including up the old Silk Road through the Gobi Desert. Planned in cooperation with Shanghai Television and the Government of the People's Republic of China (with sponsorship from the AB Group and Nike) this televised adventure was the first to feature foreigners driving through some undiscovered and beautiful portions of rural China. Factory tours and interviews made the show complete as it explored the great development potential that exists in Western China. An estimated 30 million mainland Chinese viewers took part and tuned in for this adventure.
Mr. Ogilvie received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California (USC), Telecommunications from San Francisco State University and is slated to receive an MBA from the University of Southern California in 2003. He has also studied at Fudan University in Shanghai, China.
Mr. Ogilvie speaks English and Mandarin Chinese. He is an active member in the Academy for Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the American Film Institute (AFI), LACMA, the USC Alumni Association and serves on the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles - St. Petersburg Sister City Committee.
