Jonas Woost may be one of the few professionals to strike that healthy work-life balance so often venerated on the West Coast.
“Two of my favourite things are working and not working,” said the director of business development at Pacific Content, a podcast agency recently acquired by Rogers Media Inc.
A late convert to the outdoor lifestyle synonymous with Vancouver, the German native devotes his spare time to his wife and young children when not golfing, running or hiking.
While on the clock, he’s spent a career toggling back and forth between the music industry and film and TV sector, most recently serving as executive producer of original content and Storyhive for Telus Corp.
“That part was really fun because I was able to learn new things while sort of using the muscles that I’ve built over the last 20 years [in the music industry],” Woost said.
“The ecosystem that’s behind music, that’s behind film and television, that’s behind books, that’s behind lots of other things – they’re really, really similar. They have, of course, their nuances but I hoped I was really able to take the learnings that I had from the music industry … and apply those to film and television as well.”
Woost, who describes himself as someone in the business of enabling storytelling, began his career in Germany.
There, he worked as a web developer for PIAS Recordings, Europe’s largest independent record label, before moving to the U.K. in 2001 to work for other music companies in different capacities.
He eventually landed at social music network Last.fm Ltd., where he served as head of music until 2009.
After that, Woost took a job at CBC Music in Vancouver and worked his way up to managing editor.
The shift to visual storytelling at Telus in 2015 allowed him to work on documentaries such as Secret Alberta: The Former Life of Amber Valley and Who Let the Dogs Out.
“When I see those individuals impacted by the work that we do, when I see their stories that come out of that, that is the part where I get really, really excited.”
Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
Where you live now: Vancouver
Highest level of education: Abitur (German high school diploma)
Currently reading: Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell
Currently listening to: Years to Burn by Calexico and Iron & Wine
When you were a kid, what you wanted to be when you grew up: Chef (didn’t work out)
Profession you would most like to try: Behavioural scientist
Toughest business or professional decision: Moving to Vancouver and starting over again
Advice you would give the younger you: Don’t be scared – just try it (I’m still telling myself that)
What’s left to do: Too much
Join us to celebrate the 2019 Forty under 40 Awards on January 30, 2020, at the Westin Bayshore. For tickets and event information visit https://www.biv.com/forty-under-40
