Ray Slay is widely recognized as the chief executive and innovative leader who guided the entertainment industry into the monetization of media content garnering companies millions in unrealized dollars.  His relationships and influence in the Photography & New Media industry are unparalleled.

He spearheaded the development of modern data management systems to create full service workflow solutions used by publicity and marketing teams throughout the entertainment industry today.  Two broadcast networks, 20 cable networks and four studios are currently using data storage and asset distribution systems developed through his oversight and direction.

With over 25 years of experience, he lead the industry in creating the development of custom content and imagery from ideation through execution, production, management, preservation, distribution, licensing and ultimately monetization.

Most recently, he held the position of Senior Vice President, Photography & New Media at NBCUniversal where he lead the division to become the industry leader in photo asset capitalization.  Under his creation and direction, the NBCU Photo Bank now preserves and licenses one of the world’s largest and rare collections of entertainment images.  He led NBCU into their partnerships with the Associated Press and then Getty Images to exclusively distribute digital content worldwide including 150,000 of the most influential news and entertainment outlets across the European Union.  The agreement marked the first time exclusive TV content from any US television broadcaster had such wide-ranging international distribution garnering the company millions in unrealized dollars.

In addition to the NBCU Photo Bank, Slay oversaw the execution and creation of all NBCU image assets across 17 original cable networks and two studios; innovated and had daily oversight for NBC Media Village and its press and promotional assets, which are distributed to 3,000 registered users/outlets; managed a staff of 30, including photo producers, photographers, retouchers, digital managers, new media asset creation managers, and licensing specialists, while also overseeing a roster of creative, data management and software developers.  He also oversaw more than 350 galleries and 2700 days of episodic coverage each year across the NBCUniversal Television Group; managed nearly 3,000,000 original photo assets annually produced by the Photography, New Media and Digital Media Distribution Division.

Prior to NBCUniversal, Slay was the Vice President, Photography & New Media at The Walt Disney Company and ABC Television Network where he created the first division of its kind at the company.  After Disney’s acquisition of ABC, Slay merged the two photo departments creating the largest working photo division in entertainment at that time where he took millions of combined content that were subsequently digitized, preserved, managed then monetized unlocking millions of dollars in unrealized photo assets.

He also created the first online data management media platforms specifically for Walt Disney Television, Touchstone Television and ABC Television; collaborated on the most sophisticated asset management tool of its time, LIGHTBOX; collaborated on innovations that led to photographers’ ability to edit and upload images directly from digital cameras.  He had oversight for staff of 37, including photographers, retouchers, photo producers, new media content creators, content strategists, as well as a roster of creative, data management and software developers.  Slay had daily management for ABCMediaNet and its press and promotional assets.

Before Slay moved to Los Angeles, he worked as a Photographer and Film Producer in the oil and gas industry.  He also worked for the US Government documenting classified and unclassified projects.