In 1996 after turning a job down as the Associate Dean of Admissions for a small liberal arts college, Greg Wacks found himself with a job at the epicenter of cool, MTV Networks.  At first, making copies of Rolling Stone articles, answering the phone for the head of MTV2, and acting as a stand in for Matt Pinfield in the middle of Times Square would prove to be tedious. Some 14 years later, however, Wacks would realize that these humble beginnings laid the foundation for a long and successful career during the heyday of MTV.


From those early days working in the trenches and being part of the core team on programming like: TRL, MTV Spring Break, The Isle of MTV Beach House, MTV’s SoCal Summer, and the 6 hour live broadcast of MTV New Year’s Eve 2000, Wacks would gain valuable experience working with talent and learning the art of large scale multi-camera studio shows.  From there, he built upon this success by leaving MTV behind and putting his skills to work at MTV’s big little sister, VH1.


It was here that Wacks was brought in as a specialist in the field of something very rare…music video programming.  This dying breed of shows was in its decline but despite this obstacle, he forged on, launching and producing such successful franchises as: VH1’s Top 20 Video Countdown and Forever Wild with Sebastian Bach.  But like any good foot soldier in the war against shifting trends, he saw the death of music video programming as a chance for reinvention.  Wacks dove head first into the brave new world of VH1’s reality and clip-show lineup by launching franchises like Wendy Williams is on Fire!, Web Junk 20, and The Wendy Williams Experience.


Having made a successful name for himself at MTVN and withstanding the rigors of working with Sebastian Bach, Wendy Williams, and Patrice Oneal for the better part of 5 years, Greg decided to unwind a bit by enrolling part time at the Sommelier Society of America.  After 6 months of studying about the world’s wine growing regions, he managed to successfully complete the certificate course by correctly answering over 80% of the final exam questions and by being able to correctly identify a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand by using just his eyes, nose, and taste buds.


So what does veteran tv producer with a sommelier certification do next?  Go to work at a web startup of course.  Wacks is currently the creative director for Spreecast, a new live interactive web platform that will transform they way people create content online.