During her childhood in Winnipeg in the Fifties and Sixties, Phyllis Yaffe learned first-hand about the power of a TV set. She didn't have her own room. The black-and-white set did.

Today, five decades after Yaffe's introduction to television through programs such as Howdy Doody, TV remains a powerful influence in her life. Only now, Yaffe is one of the leading players in Canada's television industry with her finger on the pulse of what Canadians are watching.

The one-time librarian left a career in publishing in 1994 to join Alliance Communications (which later merged with Atlantis Communications), and it didn't take her long to make her presence felt in directing the company's successful penetration into a burgeoning market of specialty television networks.

Last June, Yaffe was appointed CEO of Alliance Atlantis and now directs the fortunes of a company that has taken the Canadian industry by storm in recent years, largely on the stunning success of the series of CSI programs it co-owns and co-produces with CBS.

Brennan O'Connor, Business Edge
Alliance Atlantis Communications CEO Phyllis Yaffe has watched the CSI franchise exceed all expectations.

As fate would have it, the youngster who once had to take a backseat to a TV set now has the best seat in the house. Her childhood passion is also her business.

1. What are your memories of growing up in Winnipeg?

"I loved it there. I went to university there, I started my career there and I still have lots of family and friends there, so Winnipeg is really home to me. It was a great place to grow up. It always has been, and it continues to be, a wonderful cultural centre and a great place for opportunities."

2. How much of an impact did television and broadcasting have on your youth in Winnipeg?

"I was a consumer of all media and loved reading. I watched television along with everybody in our family. Television came into my life just as I was getting ready to go to (grade) school. I remember driving across the city in the middle of winter to go to my aunt's and uncle's place to watch television before we got a set. My first memory of television is the test pattern (a geometric design that is symbolic of early television in Canada) and one of the first shows I remember was Howdy Doody being a big part of our lives. I also remember The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday nights when we got to eat on TV tables in the den. When our family moved into our house in Winnipeg, it was a three-bedroom house and I think the original plan was that my sister and I would each have our own bedroom. But television was so important that my parents decided that one of the bedrooms would become the den for watching television. The television was so important that it got its own room and I didn't."

3. Who was the greatest influence on your life as a youngster?

"I'm a Baby Boomer, so my life was influenced a lot by the times and obviously by my parents. Growing up in the Sixties and going to university (University of Manitoba), you could think of any new idea, you could ask any question, you could question authority, you could break ground and do new things. It was a wonderful time. You were asked to expand your mind and you were asked to read and think. Everybody at my age was asking questions where society should go, where Canada should go and where our politics should be. It was clear to me then that you could ask questions and try do things differently than other people did it. And that was OK. My first job was as a librarian."

4. So how does one go from being a librarian to running one of the country's major broadcasting companies?

"Obviously, it wasn't a straight line. I don't think anyone's career is a straight line. I ask people, 'What was your first career?' Sometimes, people will say, 'I'm the head of finance, but I started in chemical engineering or something.' I went from librarianship into the publishing world, from there into the film and television world and from there into broadcasting. Although it's an unusual path, I'll admit, it had one thing in common. I was always working in the area of what Canadians are doing in the realm of cultural industries."

5. Was it an easy decision for you to leave Owl Communications to join Alliance in 1994?

Brennan O'Connor, Business Edge
Atlantis Alliance CEO Phyllis Yaffe sees television as a powerful force.

"No. When I went to the board of directors and said I was going to resign, they said, 'No, we don't accept and we think you're taking a terrible risk.' And I asked my father, who was really ill at the time, if I should do this and he said, 'No, it makes me nervous and you've got a great job.' But I really thought the idea of Showcase (specialty network) was a good idea, and I thought the opportunity was a great one. They told me it was going to be really easy to get the licence (for Showcase) and there wouldn't be a lot of competition. It turned out that there was lots of competition. There were about 50 applications and they only licensed six. It was harder to get than I had thought, but it's turned out to be a good idea, a good television service and a good business."

6. What has your rookie year as CEO been like?

"There is more to being a CEO than you glean from the outside because the company and the employees and the outside world look to see what your vision will be, what your choices will be and how they'll be different. Because I was COO (chief operating officer) for a year before, I had lots of involvement in shaping the direction of the company. But now it's really clear that my view of where we need to go is luckily very much in line with where we were before. I think we've made the right choices and we're continuing to make them - and that is to become a content company that delivers content to audiences."

7. What are you doing to put your stamp on the organization and how do you think your style differs from your predecessor (current executive chairman Michael MacMillan)?

"My style is different because we're different people. I would say that I try to set a tone that is approachable and open. And I try to listen to the staff. Michael MacMillan is an entrepreneur who took all the risks to get us here, but my approach is of being more of a manager and of somebody who came through the ranks and understands more of what the employees are looking for in terms of direct communication. I try to be the person they hear from a lot and the person that helps them understand where we're going.

"Luckily, because Michael is still the executive chairman, I have less of some of the responsibilities he had when he was both the chairman and CEO. I think we're a good team."

8. What are you proudest of, when you reflect on your achievements with the company?

"Because I was right there at the beginning (in the company's television broadcasting business) and was employee No. 1, I take a great deal of pride in looking at how we changed the landscape of broadcasting. I come across Canadians who think of Showcase and the Life networks as just part of the broadcast landscape. Young people think that Showcase, Life and History (networks) have always been here and are just part of television.

I think that's a huge accomplishment because we have become a part of the fabric of Canadian culture. I remember growing up not even having a clue that there was a television business you could be a part of. But now I think young people always think they can work in television wherever they work in this country and I think that's a huge accomplishment."

9. How do you see the television industry evolving over the next decade?

"Well, over the last decade, there's been the change from watching a few major networks to watching many, many different channels. Now, 53 per cent of all television viewing in Canada goes to pay television and specialty channels. The majority of viewing now goes to niche channels or focus channels like History or Food or HGTV (Home and Garden Television) or National Geographic. I think that trend will continue and people will choose more and more what they want to watch, when they want to watch it."

10. Has the CSI franchise exceeded your expectations and how do you see that part of your business playing out?

"Yes, it has (exceeded expectations) - resoundingly so. I'd love to be able to predict (how CSI will develop). We watch other franchises of television shows that have continued to exist for a very long time. So we can be optimistic (based on that). CSI is only six years old and Law & Order is 16 years old, so one hopes that there's lots more longevity in the franchise. CSI is incredibly strong. CSI Miami was noted as the most-watched television program in the world in 2005. The success of the franchise is not just in North America, but all over the world. And it (CSI) is younger in a lot of other countries than it is here and CSI Miami is only four years old. So we're optimistic about its continued health and its longevity. But television is a fickle business. Things come and go and we expect that as well."

11. Are you now looking for the 'next CSI,' so to speak?

"Not really. To be honest, our view of this is that (CSI) is such a powerful franchise and so important in the television landscape that it's very unlikely that we will ever be at the table looking at another idea that is this compelling. Our sense is that it's been a great success and we hope that it will continue to be a great success. Yet, the notion of making hour-long dramas for other channels is something that we've done for a long time, and we did find the absolute gold star in that business. But we don't do that anymore. We're not looking for the next CSI. We're contented with the absolute powerhouse that this franchise is. We look at drama here in Canada as a broadcaster, rather than as a producer. And we certainly are contributing and supporting lots and lots of new ideas when it comes to Canadian drama."

12. What's the best-case scenario in terms of how long CSI can remain a star in your business?

"I guess I would say that the three (CSI) franchises could go on for as long as the Law & Order franchise. That would give all three of them double-digit longevity. There are a lot more years in this, I hope. It's such a powerful franchise."

13. What's your strategy in growing Alliance Atlantis?

"We really focus on the notion that content and the digital universe - the digital view of content - is really where our business is going. As I've said, it's going to get more and more in the hands of the viewer. The switch from analog to digital television has been a very big success here in Canada. We passed the five million digital homes mark last year. In 2001, we launched seven digital channels and launched an eighth digital channel a few years ago. We think (the trend is) to more choice and more opportunity to watch what you want. I said 23 hours (per week) is the average for Canadians. That's the analog average. If you're a digital home, it's up to 28 hours (per week) on average.

"So my sense of the television universe is that when people have more to choose from, they watch more. So I think being able to supply content to viewers is really the future of the business, and that's where Alliance Atlantis is positioned."

14. Are you looking at growing through acquisition?

"Well, we always look at anything that comes along. This is a business where people talk about mergers and acquisitions, but it's also a business where everybody seems to be relatively well positioned to be an acquirer with very few sellers in the business. It has been very stable here in our business for quite some time. There could be changes in our industry, but we are focused on growing the businesses that we have."

15. If the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) asked for one piece of advice toward improving the industry, what advice would you give?

"We actually are very big supporters of the CRTC. Given all the ups and downs of regulation in any industry, overall they've done a very good job. We have a good system here in Canada and I say don't mess with a good system. It is really working in two different ways. One, we're creating and distributing a lot of Canadian programming to Canadian viewers and they're watching it. The second thing is that it has created a healthy and vibrant broadcast industry in Canada that employs thousands of Canadians. So I would say overall, the best thing to do is to make sure the system is working. But you don't need to do very much to make sure it continues to work well. And the other thing is to make sure you're supporting the growth of the industry. And I mean that from the point of view of not impeding us with lots of hard regulations that slow us down."

16. From a management perspective, what do you try and do to maximize potential of your staff?

"We have regular all-staff meetings that I chair. I try to bring some information to those meetings so that people can get an insight into what's going on in my office and in the headquarters of the company. Then, they have a sense of not just the vision and the mission of the company but the direction of the business on a regular basis, like what we are looking at, what we're trying to develop and the new areas where we've hired new people. And we try to make sure that they understand that there are opportunities for them if they want to grow with the company and that we are keen to develop the talent that we have. And, before they think of leaving, we want them to know that they should come and talk to us about new opportunities inside Alliance Atlantis. I try to encourage people to think about all the changes and the new things we do as a place for them to grow. We have a strong sense of trying to hire from within, trying to promote from within and trying to create a culture that nurtures creativity and nurtures new ideas."

17. Who's the business leader you most admire?

"I can't say that I have a single person that I would point to. People I really admire are people who bring their own stamp to their business and who have their own voice and their own culture which you can see throughout the whole company. That's what I look for in a leader, that they have a vision and they bring it to the whole company."

18. As your responsibilities have grown, have you been able to strike a balance between work and your personal life?

"It's not easy, but I'm in the wonderful position of having a daughter who is living in Montreal, finishing school and starting a career. So I don't have to worry about running home to the day care. I would say that I have lots more flexibility. I absolutely think it's crucial that people have lives as well as careers and I encourage people to do that. I like to think that I'm at the part in my life where I have a lot of energy to not just do my job, but also to work in some not-for-profit organizations. I'm on the board of Ryerson (University) and I'm enjoying that. I try to be involved in some of the charities that are near and dear to my heart."

19. What do you see in your life's crystal ball, beyond business?

"I'm just getting my feet set in this position so I certainly don't see myself stopping for a while. But I can imagine a time when I don't have a job and I get involved in other organizations. I enjoy being on boards. I chaired the board of the Ontario Science Centre and I really learned a lot from that. I had a demanding and interesting time there. I see myself doing more of those kinds of things."

20. You've come a long way from those early years of going across town to watch the test pattern. How do you reflect on how your career has evolved?

"I bet you there are a lot of people in Western Canada who have had that experience, of watching the snowy test pattern. Television is still a new phenomenon in our lives. It's so prescient and so powerful that we kind of forget how new it is in terms of having this impact. I don't remember much before television, but if you talk to people older than I am, you realize that television changed our whole lives. Everybody always tells me that they don't watch a lot of television, that they're not the 23-hour-a-week person. But then I drive down the street at night and I see all the flickering lights in those windows. And I say to myself, 'Those people are.' It's a powerful force in our world. I'm just thrilled that I can be part of making it something that was valuable to Canadians."

Phyllis Yaffe

* Title: CEO, Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc.

* Born/Raised/Age: Winnipeg/57.

* Education: University of Manitoba, BA, English literature; University of Alberta, BA, library science; University of Toronto, master's, library science.

* Career: Yaffe joined Alliance Communications in 1994 as head of the company's broadcast division in charge of the specialty television networks, and was then chief operating officer before being appointed CEO in June 2005. Prior to joining Alliance Atlantis, she was vice-president of marketing for Owl Communications and chair of the Foundation to Underwrite New Drama for Pay Television (FUND), now known as the Harold Greenberg Fund.

* First Job: Librarian.

* Moonlighting: Yaffe was the first director of The Children's Book Centre and chaired the Board of Trustees of the Ontario Science Centre from 1991 to 1997. She is on the boards of Motion Picture Distribution Inc. and Ryerson University and is chair of the Canadian Abilities Foundation Board.

* Accolades: She was the Canadian Women in Communications Woman of the Year in 1999 and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Women in Film and Television in 2000.

* Pastime: Cooking.

Alliance Atlantis Communications

* Brass: Phyllis Yaffe, CEO; Michael MacMillan, executive chairman; David Lazzarato, executive vice-president/chief financial officer.

* Profile: Alliance Atlantis is a broadcaster with 13 specialty television channels and also co-owns and co-produces the hit CSI franchise, including programs CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami and CSI: NY. The company also has a 51-per-cent limited partnership in Motion Picture Distribution LP.

* History: Alliance Atlantis was founded in 1998 on a merger between Alliance Communications Corp. and Atlantis Communications Inc.

* 2005 Revenue: $1.05 billion.

* Stock Price (TSX:AAC.NV.B): $35.60 (52-week range, $27.50-$38.09).

* Website: www.allianceatlantis.com

* Head Office: 121 Bloor St. East, Suite 1500, Toronto, M4W 3M5.

* Phone/Fax: 416-967-1174/960-0971.

(Gyle Konotopetz can be reached at gyle@businessedge.ca)