Sam Chisholm is a recipient of a lung transplant. He is also Chair of the Advisory Council to the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority.
Mr Chisholm is a former Chief Executive Officer of the 9 television network in Australia - serving 2 terms, including a number of years after his transplant. He is also a former CEO of the British television network BSkyB.
Chisholm started in television as a detour from his previous career of floor polish salesman, according to Graeme Blundell in his book King: The life and comedy of Graham Kennedy.
By this account, he demonstrated the power of his product to the then-new (1960s) king of variety television, Graham Kennedy, by personally coming round to his Melbourne home and polishing his kitchen floor.
Chisholm had 2 stints as CEO of 9. His 2nd stint was in a bid to steady the ship as the network's profitability declined, according to Gerald Stone in his book Who killed Channel 9? The Death of Kerry Packer's Mighty TV Dream Machine.
In that book, Stone reports impressions of the staff at Channel 9 Sydney as being suspicious of a man who had had such major surgery:
Quote from Stone book
Such misinformed perceptions can often be made against people who have had organ transplants. Whilst I wrote in my post on Jonah Lomu that a person who has had a transplant needs to make realistic and informed choices about what they can and cannot do, this does not excuse others from making uninformed pre-judgements.
Whatever one might think of Sam Chisholm, he successfully ran a (formerly) highly profitable commercial television network - a high pressure job, to be sure.
Links to material on Sam Chisholm include:
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Prime Minister of Australia: opening remarks to Australian Organ Donor Awareness Week, 24th February 2009
In this speech, the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Kevin Rudd MP announces that Sam Chisholm will become Chair of the Advisory Council to the newly-created Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority.
Biographical newspaper cuttings file on Sam Chisholm
Consolidated Media Holdings: Sam Chisholm steps down
This page is a link to a PDF file of an announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange.
Michael Evans, Sam Chisholm gets Nine's missing balls, Sydney Morning Herald, 13th February 2006
David Dale, Sam Chisholm responds: what, me worry? Sun Herald, [17?] November 2005
An
interesting blog entry (from 2005, a long time ago in digital history)
in which the CEOs of Australian television networks incorrectly
forecast that the internet will have no effect on TV viewing habits
Damien Murphy, Play it again, Sam. The Age [Melbourne], 14th May 2005
An analysis of Chisholm's return to 9 in 2005.
Annie Lawson, Powerplays of a media deal-maker. The Age, 18th April 2004
A commentary of Chisholm's managerial style and activities, written one year after his transplant.
Gift of life
Transcript of a 2003 story Chisholm's lung transplant on 60 Minutes
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