Esdra Lamy

Vice President of Worldwide Television Distribution and Sales

Warner Brothers

The road to vice president of worldwide television distribution at Warner Brothers has been a long and somewhat surprising one for Esdra Lamy.

But it has also been one filled with opportunities that he was always ready to accept – a concept that he learned during his time at Missouri Southern State University. In fact, his life philosophy reflects a moment of clarity he had while traveling with MSSU for an education opportunity: Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

“You get what you put into it,” Lamy said. “For me, a school like Southern and the Communication Department allowed me to experience as much as I was willing to experience. I became fearless out of that. I became a risk-taker. Unafraid. And it was really born from one particular experience as a young producer at the university in the TV department.

“I pushed the faculty and engineering crew to do a live broadcast of Missouri Southern’s men’s basketball team. I never thought they would go for it, but the response I got was, ‘Let’s figure out how to make it work.’ Not, ‘No. No. No.’ That was my first experience of challenge and pressure. I was able to experience the first true live broadcast of an MSSU sporting event, and it has stuck in my mind ever since. That’s why I always say that where there’s a will, there’s a way. If you’re persistent and you have desire, you’re going to be supported to do whatever you want to do.”

That experience with the MSSU television station, KGCS, led to other opportunities – such as a trip to Singapore and another trip to Hollywood. And it was during his visit to Los Angeles that he began to network with the television executives that would one day hire him.

When he left Missouri Southern in 2001, he knew he wanted to take his degree and use it to pursue a career in television. He thought he wanted to be an on-air personality, but he wasn't interested in having to work his way up through such a competitive field of talent. Eventually he began to gravitate to the business side of the industry.

He was introduced to Petry Media – an advertising firm that represented television stations all around the country. He began to sell advertising, and the company invested in his training by sending him to New York City for an in-depth career development session. At the end of that training the company asked for volunteers to move to Los Angeles. Lamy raised his hand and made the first big decision of his career.

“I moved to LA and just kept my head down and worked,” he said. “After two and a half years in the business, I cold called my way into Warner Bros. I didn’t know anyone there, but in an industry journal I had seen something about entry-level positions and I knew if somehow, some way I could get an interview I would have a chance. It just happened that they were looking for someone fresh and green who could be taught, and I was willing to learn. That was my luck.

“By 2004 I was an account executive. Two years later they moved me back to New York City as a manager to handle their markets in the Southeast and Northeast. I did that for six years and then was promoted to director. They eventually moved me back to L.A. and promoted me to my current position.”