Sandra Buenaventura

 I met Sandra at the recent get-together by MediaCorp to pay tributes to its pioneers. I was certainly glad to meet up with another old timer whom I had worked with for a number of years on Caldecott Hill. Sandra was then the Head of Programme and Scheduling unit and I was engineer in charge of the Master Control Rooms where TV programmes were delivered to homes via the TV transmitters. Being one of the professionals with the TV team under Cheng Teng Fatt she acquired a good many overseas TV programmes during the days of SBC. I knew her to be a no nonsense kind of manager who always demanded the best from her staff. When the company restructured into several component companies under Singapore International Media Pte Ltd she was promoted to President and CEO of TV 12 (the other TV company was TCS Television Corporation of Singapore).

To share more memories with other COTs here is a write-up with courtesy from Karen of the Corporate Communications Department of MediaCorp

 (Photo above: from left Sandra, Paramajit Singh, Michael Loke)

Reminiscing with …. Sandra Buenaventura

Sandra found her way into broadcasting as a secondment to then RTS from the Ministry of Culture in 1979. She was part of the pioneer team that revamped the programing content of Channels 5 and 8 as RTS evolved into SBC. During her tenure, she acquired foreign TV programmes and movies, scheduling of both foreign and Singapore-produced programmes, publicity, promotion and subtitling of all TV programmes on the 2 channels. She later launched Channel 12, dedicated to documentaries and the arts and became its first female President and CEO of TV12.

During her 17-year career, Sandra was part of the Senior Management team at SBC and became the first Asian to be appointed on the Board of Promax – a radio and TV international body based in the US. Sandra left TV in 1997 and joined Mindef as Head Public Communications.

 “The support and the patience and tolerance shown by my 300 plus staff for my raving and ranting. In fact they tell me it is payback time for me now as I have been tasked by them to organise our annual get together lunch for the past 17 yea Sandra's Quotable Quotes: "if you survive under my management you can survive under any boss rs.”  

MediaCorp remember Caldecott Hill Old Timers (COT)

Mediacorp remember COTs

It is not often that a company remembers its staff who had retired many years back 30,40,50 years. Mediacorp did . It invited its pioneers to a gathering on Thurs 20 Aug 2015. And briefed them  on the latest development of the company and its new complex at MediaPolis . Minister Lawrence Wong was there as well together with officials from MDA and the Management. I was certainly glad to meet and greeted by the CEO Shaun Seow, Deputy CEO Long Jong and CTO Joseph Igo. It was very heart warming to meet up with old colleagues and friends. At lunch we shared many memories. My first supervisor fifty years ago Ong Shee Chek (Technical Producer) was there too. He brought up the occasion I was scolded by Ben Da Cuhna Deputy Chief Engineer for not removing a studio camera cover before switching on. Ha ha ha...some memories one cannot forget. And the COTs (this term is coined by George Favacho) I worked with over the years and met that day were ...
Raymond Huang, Param Singh,Liew Ter Kwang, Goh Kee Chai, Michael Loke, Anwar, Cecilia, Joan Chee,Wong Yew Wah,John Tan, Andrew Cheng, SimChoon Hing, Kong, Gay Tong Beng, Ho Pan Chun, Seet Leong Teik, Tan Cheng Kee, Sandra , Ow Kee Hong, Banu, Hashim Yusof, Kenneth Liang, George Netto, Brian Richmond, Norman Lim etc and many others..
It was very nice and thoughtful of Mediacorp to organise this event...remembering its pioneers.
For a report of the event by CNA please refer to this link.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/mediacorp-pays-tribute-to/2063966.html