Personal Details
Name: Jonathon Savill Nationality: British Status: Married
Mobile: +44 7976 168 663 Email: j@jonsav.com Web: www.jonsav.com
Freelance Journalist and Commercial Writer
I have written magazine editorial, commercial copy, speeches, television series, corporate video, corporate bids and proposals, books, radio documentaries, a university course, government communications and for BBC News.
During my working life in seventy-three countries I have gained cultural awareness, especially of the EMEA region.
I have been involved in the development of interactive video for BBC Training and also the BBC Educational Development. This included development on the Sony PSP. I have worked on digital campaigns for: Sony, Bentley, Mini, T Mobile, First Group, Rolex, Bang and Olufsen, Business South and Archos.
As publicity manager for Geoff Holt’s ‘Personal Everest’ I worked with HRH, the Princess Royal, on a professional basis.
I was the originator of “Escape to the Legion”, a TV show in 2005, featuring Bear Grylls. The show followed Grylls and eleven other ‘recruits’ as they took part in a shortened re-creation of French Foreign Legion basic desert training in the Sahara. The show was broadcast in the UK on Channel 4 and in the USA on the Military Channel.
Key Skills Summary
Editor and publisher: Aviso, JPMorgan Fleming customer magazine (5 years), Arabian Business, Classic Sailor magazine, Altitudes Arabia.
Contributing Editor: Esquire Magazine (5 years); Contributing Editor GQ Magazine (3 years) Edgar Magazine.
Columnist: BA Business Life Magazine (8 Years); Columnist Daily Telegraph Computer section (4 years)
Contributor to: Stuff Magazine; Boat Owner Middle East; Charged Magazine Middle East; Classic Boat; Focus; Top Gear Magazine; Men’s Fitness, Evening Standard, The Times, Daily Mail, Saturday Telegraph, Independent, Guernsey Evening Press, Men’s Journal USA, The Sun, GQ Active.
BBC World Service: Newsroom ‘From Our Own Correspondent’ (seven broadcasts). Documentaries for Radio 1. Comedy writer for Radio 4. Channel 4 – Back to the Legion (writer and originator) Radio Wales – 3 years as gadget broadcaster, Jono Coleman’s ‘The Morning Show’ (Heart FM) GMTV ‘Good Morning’, Sky TV ‘Road test’, Radio 4 Television producer, IPTV training for BBC Newsgathering.
BBC Newsgathering: I was responsible for a training website and database. This was operational in 42 countries and used to train journalists in the use of satellite communication for live transmission. It included a forum and an RSS feed. I was responsible for the upkeep of the website until December 2010 and hosted it on behalf of the BBC. In 5 years, we had zero operational downtime.
Qualifications
Education
Masters of Arts, Digital Media Practice (Merit) University of Winchester, England 2012.
Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.
Professional Certification Certificate of Merit, Etihad 2013
Published work: No More Mr Fat Guy (36,000 copies sold).
Professional Experience Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi • Jan 2013 – Feb 2014
National Airline of the UAE.
Manager Corporate Communications. I was responsible for the written output of the airline, but I also became involved with video. Before becoming a full time employee of Etihad, I wrote five corporate videos, adapted a song for corporate use and designed an animated logo for the company. I was also responsible for naming all their meeting spaces and the look of their Flying Nanny package. I produced the Etihad talent show and scripted their tenth anniversary video project. I checked all their outgoing EDM material and their special offers and corporate communications, including several IFE projects.
Duties included:
EDM. Strategic development of marketing collateral including external communication.
Operations. Developed theme for younger guest services.
Video communications. Directed and produced material for IFE and road shows.
CPI Dubai • Jan 2013 – May 2013 Leading Middle East magazine publisher.
Contributing Editor. Freelance editor, contributing to three different magazines. I was also responsible for liaising with construction companies and writing around ten pages of Construction Monthly each month.
I provided copy for several special publishing projects, including marketing collateral for several exhibitions and trade publications. I have experience of construction, infrastructure projects such as district cooling and downstream oil and gas.
Lux Media Editor ‘Altitudes Arabia’ and contributing editor ‘Edgar’.
Kharafi National Abu Dhabi, UAE • April 2010– Jan 2012
Leading infrastructure project developer and facilities management service provider; 25,000 employees.
Manager Corporate Communications. I worked within a small team defining and delivering the company’s corporate communications’ strategies. I initially started on written output, but gradually refined and specialised the communications map. I produced and directed a video on waste solutions, filmed in Kuwait, UAE and Milan. I also wrote the script for this video that had a budget of $100,000. It was used to gain a contract worth several billion dollars. I also undertook personal projects for the Chairman which involved visiting Amsterdam and London ten times in a year.
British Broadcasting Corporation London • April 2002– Jan 2010
Video Producer, Freelance. I first joined the BBC in 1994 and worked in the BBC World Service newsroom. I was taught various skills including radio production and later video production. I also worked briefly in television. During my time working with the education department, I became involved in an interactive video project. Later I made videos on Broadband Global Area Networks. These were used to train journalists and it was here that I learned how to take technical facts and to make them simple enough for a mixed audience to understand, a skill I developed further at Kharafi National.