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SPEAKERS

Gregor Angus
Founder and CEO, TrueRoyalty TV

Angus is the chief executive of ABM Communications, a company he co-founded in 2017. Together with business partners Nick Bullen and Edward Mason, ABM launched True Royalty TV, the world’s only subscription video on demand TV service (SVOD) dedicated to Royal factual content in 2018. Dubbed by Variety as “the Netflix of Royal TV”, True Royalty TV offers subscribers the best documentaries an... read more

Angus is the chief executive of ABM Communications, a company he co-founded in 2017. Together with business partners Nick Bullen and Edward Mason, ABM launched True Royalty TV, the world’s only subscription video on demand TV service (SVOD) dedicated to Royal factual content in 2018.

Dubbed by Variety as “the Netflix of Royal TV”, True Royalty TV offers subscribers the best documentaries and factual dramas about royalty from around the world and through the ages. The service allows users to watch content whenever and wherever they want on a range of devices. True Royalty TV has grown rapidly since its launch, adding multiple original commissions to its original library of acquired content, and with further expansion planned into live coverage of events. In February 2018 it was the first UK-based online subscription video on demand service to be made available through a pay-TV provider in the US, with a launch on Comcast’s Xfinity X1. True Royalty is currently raising series A growth round to build scale, increase its investment in original content and expand its distribution footprint.

Prior to establishing ABM, Angus advised some of the world’s most famous and innovative brands in their transformations and marketing for the digital age.

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Sam Barcroft
CEO, Barcroft Studios

Barcroft Studios is an award-winning factual production company that specialises in producing amazing content, enjoyed and shared by millions of people worldwide. Its partners are platforms, broadcasters and media outlets around the world. Barcroft Studios’ strategy of developing and incubating hit digital series brands and adapting them for linear broadcasters has seen the company produce progr... read more

Barcroft Studios is an award-winning factual production company that specialises in producing amazing content, enjoyed and shared by millions of people worldwide. Its partners are platforms, broadcasters and media outlets around the world. Barcroft Studios’ strategy of developing and incubating hit digital series brands and adapting them for linear broadcasters has seen the company produce programming for partners including Netflix, Facebook, WEtv, Channel 4 and Discovery. The company’s digital channel Barcroft TV is one of the most popular factual channels on the internet. Its hugely successful series brands such as Hooked on the Look, Shake My Beauty, Born Different and Extreme Love have built passionate communities of over 50 million followers across Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat.

Barcroft is a proven entrepreneurial leader who is at the forefront of successful content for new audiences. His reputation as a global digital disruptor has been earned from a 25-year career across news, television and OTT.

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Dan Biddle
Strategic partner manager, entertainment, Facebook

Biddle leads strategic partnerships with UK TV, film and digital publishers at Facebook. Prior to this, Biddle was Director of Strategic Innovation and lead TV Partnerships at Twitter for over four years. Prior to that, Biddle spent seven years leading digital and social media productions for TV and iPlayer at the BBC.

Moderator Kate Bulkley
Journalist and media commentator,

An award-winning business journalist both on camera and in print, Bulkley writes regularly for specialist publications, including DTVE, The RTS Magazine and Broadcast in the UK. An American, Bulkley has lived and worked in London since 1990, first as international editor for pay TV title Cable World magazine; then as media editor for European Business News, a 24-hour, pan-European channel, owned b... read more

An award-winning business journalist both on camera and in print, Bulkley writes regularly for specialist publications, including DTVE, The RTS Magazine and Broadcast in the UK.
An American, Bulkley has lived and worked in London since 1990, first as international editor for pay TV title Cable World magazine; then as media editor for European Business News, a 24-hour, pan-European channel, owned by Dow Jones & Co., where she created and co-presented the award-winning, daily half-hour media show called Media Report. Until 2001, Bulkley was on-screen media and telecommunications editor at CNBC Europe.
Bulkley has a master degree in international economics and politics from the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, part of Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA. She began her journalism career at CNN in Washington, DC and subsequently worked in radio and in print in Colorado where she was senior reporter at The Denver Business Journal and international editor of Cable World magazine.

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Joe Caporoso
SVP, Whistle

As SVP of content and brand platforms at Whistle, Caporoso manages the day-to-day posting strategy on all social media platforms, as well as the rollout of new direct to consumer initiatives such as merchandise. He also supervises the wider content and production team, oversees the budgeting behind original productions and content investments, and works closely with the sales and marketing teams t... read more

As SVP of content and brand platforms at Whistle, Caporoso manages the day-to-day posting strategy on all social media platforms, as well as the rollout of new direct to consumer initiatives such as merchandise. He also supervises the wider content and production team, oversees the budgeting behind original productions and content investments, and works closely with the sales and marketing teams to productize Whistle’s content. Additionally, Caporoso runs point on the company’s working relationship with social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram.

Caporoso has been at the company for six years, originally starting as a cross platform editor before moving up to director of social media, then being promoted to vice president of social media and head of content. In the past year, Whistle has had its strongest period of growth on YouTube, rolled out over ten shows per week for Snapchat Discover, and were one of the 12 media companies included in Facebook’s Matchmaker program for 2019.

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James Cator
Head of podcast partnerships EMEA, Spotify

Cator has always been involved in music. Having started out as a DJ and promoting events while still at school, he went on to run record labels, produce music, and DJ internationally. Cator later joined YouTube as manager of content partnerships, music. Running music in the UK, he was responsible for managing relations with labels, artists and managers, broadening his experience into wider content... read more

Cator has always been involved in music. Having started out as a DJ and promoting events while still at school, he went on to run record labels, produce music, and DJ internationally. Cator later joined YouTube as manager of content partnerships, music. Running music in the UK, he was responsible for managing relations with labels, artists and managers, broadening his experience into wider content and user engagement. After a short period leading a music start-up, Cator joined Spotify in 2015 to build its growing podcast business in the UK. He is now head of podcast partnerships, EMEA, and manages UK partnerships and original commissioning. He continues to produce music.

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James Cooper
Co-creator and co-host, My Dad Wrote A Porno

Cooper is co-creator and co-host of award-winning British comedy podcast, My Dad Wrote A Porno. The show has been an international hit with more than 200 million downloads across 5 seasons, spawning an HBO comedy special, 2 world tours across 11 countries (including shows at the Sydney Opera House, New York’s Radio City Music Hall and the Royal Albert Hall), as well as a best selling book. B... read more

Cooper is co-creator and co-host of award-winning British comedy podcast, My Dad Wrote A Porno. The show has been an international hit with more than 200 million downloads across 5 seasons, spawning an HBO comedy special, 2 world tours across 11 countries (including shows at the Sydney Opera House, New York’s Radio City Music Hall and the Royal Albert Hall), as well as a best selling book. By day, Cooper is also a television producer, most recently creating the BAFTA-nominated Eating With My Ex for BBC Three, airing its second series in January 2020.

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Moderator Emma Cox
Journalist,

Cox is a freelance journalist who writes for UK outlets including Radio Times, the Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Sun and Daily Mail. She also works for all streamers and broadcasters from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to Sky, Netflix and Amazon, producing press material and moderating live panels and events. Lastly she provides media training services for talent and TV executives, and has recently ... read more
Cox is a freelance journalist who writes for UK outlets including Radio Times, the Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Sun and Daily Mail.
She also works for all streamers and broadcasters from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to Sky, Netflix and Amazon, producing press material and moderating live panels and events.
Lastly she provides media training services for talent and TV executives, and has recently written her first novel.
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Jos Cushing
Head of factual U.K, October films

Cushing heads up the factual department of October’s U.K offices in London where he’s responsible for overseeing and producing the shop’s core productions for the U.S. and international networks. Cushing began his career working in live sports production before transitioning into both UK and American factual programming. At Raw Television he made the first 3 seasons of hit American show; Gol... read more

Cushing heads up the factual department of October’s U.K offices in London where he’s responsible for overseeing and producing the shop’s core productions for the U.S. and international networks. Cushing began his career working in live sports production before transitioning into both UK and American factual programming. At Raw Television he made the first 3 seasons of hit American show; Gold Rush before executive producing Jungle Gold and Siberian Cut, all for the Discovery Channel. In late 2014 he moved to October where he executive produce the company’s biggest shows, including critically acclaimed and nominated series such as Channel 4′s Walking The Nile, Walking the Himalayas and The Bulger killers: Was justice done, National Geographic’s Mygrations, and History’s Emmy nominated Barbarians. Cushing has recently delivered the Amazon Prime Original series; ‘This is Football’ which filmed in 15 countries around the world with a production crew of 160 people.

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Haley Drage
Vice president corporate affairs, EMEA, Starbucks

Thomas Dubois
Head of unscripted originals, Amazon Studios France

Dubois oversees the development and production of non-scripted content. Dubois joined Amazon 8 months ago from TF1 where he was deputy head of unscripted originals for the three free channels of the TF1 Group, TF1, TMC, and TFX. In that role, he was dedicated to launching and renewing unscripted programming and worked on a range of projects including The Wall, Ninja Warrior, Cats, and Tattoo Fixer... read more

Dubois oversees the development and production of non-scripted content. Dubois joined Amazon 8 months ago from TF1 where he was deputy head of unscripted originals for the three free channels of the TF1 Group, TF1, TMC, and TFX. In that role, he was dedicated to launching and renewing unscripted programming and worked on a range of projects including The Wall, Ninja Warrior, Cats, and Tattoo Fixers. Dubois also worked on creating formats in-house for the group’s channels such as Beauty Match and The Most Beautiful Brides.

Previously, Dubois worked on in the independent production world as a creative manager and/or associate producer on shows such as Secret Story.

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Moderator Danny Fenton
CEO and executive chairman, Zig Zag Productions

Fenton founded Zig Zag in 1999 and has established the company as an innovative transatlantic television production company, respected for its eclectic approach to over 700 hours of programme making. The company is one of the largest remaining truly independent UK production companies. Prior to Zig Zag Fenton began his career at the BBC and spent a brief time working with a number of UK production... read more

Fenton founded Zig Zag in 1999 and has established the company as an innovative transatlantic television production company, respected for its eclectic approach to over 700 hours of programme making. The company is one of the largest remaining truly independent UK production companies.
Prior to Zig Zag Fenton began his career at the BBC and spent a brief time working with a number of UK production companies. Fenton is renowned in the international TV industry not only as a pioneer of audacious ideas, but he has a strong track record of unearthing new TV talent. Recent discoveries include magicians Dynamo and Troy and adventurer Richard Parks, whom he has taken to international audiences.
Fenton is executive producer on all Zig Zag productions. Recent shows he has created include I Wanna Marry Harry for Fox, Scam City and Apocalypse 101 for National Geographic, Troy for Channel 4 and Xtreme Endurance: Race to the Pole for Channel 5. Other recent hit productions include Body Bizarre for Discovery, Split Second for Nickleodeon and Ultimate Brain for CBBC.
Fenton is a regular speaker at a major industry conferences, judge for several industry awards and a commentator in the international trade media.

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Elaine Frontain Bryant
Executive vice president and head of programming, A&E Network

Frontain Bryant is EVP and head of programming at A&E Network, a position she has held since March 2015. She manages the A&E programming team and is responsible for overseeing the development, creation and execution of all programming for the network. She is also charged with integrating new programming with digital initiatives and developing ways to expand the brand across multiple plat... read more

Frontain Bryant is EVP and head of programming at A&E Network, a position she has held since March 2015. She manages the A&E programming team and is responsible for overseeing the development, creation and execution of all programming for the network. She is also charged with integrating new programming with digital initiatives and developing ways to expand the brand across multiple platforms. She reports to Rob Sharenow, President, Programming, A+E Networks.

Under Frontain Bryant, the A&E programming team has developed a bold and critically acclaimed non-fiction programming slate, garnering her back-to-back Emmy Awards®. Frontain Bryant launched the 2017 Emmy Award winner Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, and the 2016 Emmy Award winner and recipient of a 2016 Television Academy Honors, Born This Way. She developed the cutting-edge live documentary series, Live PD, as well as the network’s second live franchise Live Rescue, which ranks among A&E’s top new series over the past two years.

Frontain Bryant was previously senior vice president of programming and development at HISTORY where she oversaw series. Prior to joining HISTORY, Frontain Bryant served as senior vice president of non-fiction and alternative programming for A&E Network, responsible for such hits as Wahlburgers, Duck Dynasty and Storage Wars. Earlier in her career, Frontain Bryant served as vice president, creative development and production at Magna Global Entertainment.

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Dan Grabiner
Head of unscripted, UK, Amazon Studios

Grabiner oversees the development and production of unscripted originals for Amazon Prime Video. This includes returning brands such as The Grand Tour and All or Nothing, and a broad range of original programming across entertainment, documentary, formats and factual entertainment. Previously he was head of development at ITN, where he oversaw a slate of factual series and films including Michael ... read more

Grabiner oversees the development and production of unscripted originals for Amazon Prime Video. This includes returning brands such as The Grand Tour and All or Nothing, and a broad range of original programming across entertainment, documentary, formats and factual entertainment.

Previously he was head of development at ITN, where he oversaw a slate of factual series and films including Michael Palin in North Korea, Interview with a Murderer, The Queen’s Green Planet and easyJet: Inside the Cockpit.

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Tim Hammond
Executive director, Listen Entertainment

Tim Hammond has over 20 years’ experience of working with media businesses. An expert in commercial development for the content sector, he has advised a wide range of companies on IP management and exploitation and brand and co-production partnerships. Listen is one of the leaders in audio and audio-on-demand creation in the UK, working with some of the world’s biggest brands, talent and b... read more

Tim Hammond has over 20 years’ experience of working with media businesses. An expert in commercial development for the content sector, he has advised a wide range of companies on IP management and exploitation and brand and co-production partnerships. Listen is one of the leaders in audio and audio-on-demand creation in the UK, working with some of the world’s biggest brands, talent and broadcasters to help them use audio as a new platform for IP exploitation.

Hammond’s previous roles include Commercial Director and Director of Production and Operations at Gallowgate, where he was responsible for some of the UK’s biggest TV entertainment format hits including Saturday Night Takeaway, Pokerface and Push The Button. He has also been Director of Operations at Target Entertainment and Commercial Director at Group M Entertainment, an operating unit of WPP, involved in the business of investing in, financing and distributing television content.

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Moderator Kat Hebden
Managing director, Shotglass

Shotglass is Fremantle’s youth label. Shotglass creates inspiring and original youth programming across factual, entertainment and comedy. As a digital label, Shotglass launched The Football Republic – a football entertainment brand; produced formats for Radio 1 and Vice Munchies, and delivered digital strategies around X Factor and Got Talent before moving into television with two series ... read more

Shotglass is Fremantle’s youth label. Shotglass creates inspiring and original youth programming across factual, entertainment and comedy. As a digital label, Shotglass launched The Football Republic – a football entertainment brand; produced formats for Radio 1 and Vice Munchies, and delivered digital strategies around X Factor and Got Talent before moving into television with two series of the BAFTA-nominated Eating With My Ex (BBC Three/BBC One).

Hebden has produced a wide range of programming across drama, factual and entertainment and run digital strategies for some of the biggest global brands in broadcast such as The X Factor, The Voice and Got Talent. She has previously held roles at Syco, Wall to Wall Television, and Shed Media.

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Kirsty Hunter
Managing director and founder, StoryHunter

Hunter is an Emmy award winning executive who’s worked on some of TV’s biggest brands on all platforms. She’s twice been named to BIMA’s Hot 100 a peer voted poll of Britain’s digital leaders. Past credits include: The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Made in Chelsea, Grand Designs, Downton Abbey, Sherlock, American Gods, Britain from Above, Horrible Histories and Castaway. After senior... read more

Hunter is an Emmy award winning executive who’s worked on some of TV’s biggest brands on all platforms. She’s twice been named to BIMA’s Hot 100 a peer voted poll of Britain’s digital leaders. Past credits include: The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Made in Chelsea, Grand Designs, Downton Abbey, Sherlock, American Gods, Britain from Above, Horrible Histories and Castaway. After senior roles at Fremantle, Sony Television Pictures and All3Media’s Lion Television she founded audio/video studio StoryHunter in July 2019. StoryHunter’s remit is to tell stories, build audiences and create IP.

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Luke Hyams
Head of originals, YouTube in EMEA

Hyams previously served as director of global content at The Walt Disney Company where he oversaw collaborations with the worlds best digital creators and legacy Disney brands to create original digital franchises for a variety of platforms. Luke has spent time in Asia partnering with brands to produce web-series and micro-movies and before that worked extensively as a writer and director creating... read more

Hyams previously served as director of global content at The Walt Disney Company where he oversaw collaborations with the worlds best digital creators and legacy Disney brands to create original digital franchises for a variety of platforms. Luke has spent time in Asia partnering with brands to produce web-series and micro-movies and before that worked extensively as a writer and director creating award-winning interactive series including Dubplate Drama and Katemodern, for which he earned the Broadcast Press Guild award for innovation.

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Arun Maljaars
Director content and channels, Insight TV

As director of content and channels, Maljaars is responsible for all Insight TV channels, the content that goes on them and the direction of original content. Maljaars joined Insight TV in Amsterdam, Netherlands when the company started in 2015. He was instrumental in the launch of the first global complete 4K-Ultra HD channel in the world which broadcasts linear in the UK, Germany, Spain, Portuga... read more

As director of content and channels, Maljaars is responsible for all Insight TV channels, the content that goes on them and the direction of original content. Maljaars joined Insight TV in Amsterdam, Netherlands when the company started in 2015. He was instrumental in the launch of the first global complete 4K-Ultra HD channel in the world which broadcasts linear in the UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland and India and offers an SVOD version of the 4K-UHD channel. Commissions he has overseen include (but are not limited to): King of the Hammers: Ultra4Sagas, Around The World In 80 Tricks, Dracula; Escape The Castle, Extraordinary Humans, Power & …, MTB Heroes. Maljaars is an experienced media professional and has held positions in renowned companies All3Media and Zodiak-Banijay.

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Raimon Masllorens
Managing director and owner, Brutal Media

After 20 years as executive producer working for several companies, Raimon founded Brutal Media in 2010. He is responsible for overseeing the company’s business strategy and managing the relationships with funders and broadcasters. He leads the creative team and enjoys developing and executive producing unscripted and scripted projects. Productions include: Felipe y Letizia (Mediaset), La Barone... read more

After 20 years as executive producer working for several companies, Raimon founded Brutal Media in 2010. He is responsible for overseeing the company’s business strategy and managing the relationships with funders and broadcasters. He leads the creative team and enjoys developing and executive producing unscripted and scripted projects.
Productions include: Felipe y Letizia (Mediaset), La Baronesa (Mediaset), We shall return (TVE), El Foraster (TV3, 7 seasons), This is Opera (TVE, Beta Films), Laia (TV3), El Paisano (TVE, 2 seasons), This is Art (TV3, Movistar), This is Football (Amazon Prime), La Paisana (TVE), Las del hockey (TV3, Netflix, 2 seasons), I love you, stupid (feature film 2020).
Masllorens is the president of PROA (Spanish Federation of audiovisual producers) and the director of the executive production master at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona.

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Courteney Monroe
President, National Geographic Global Television Network

Monroe oversees global programming, operations and marketing for the portfolio of National Geographic channels around the world, which includes National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo People and Nat Geo MUNDO. Monroe is also responsible for all operations, including the development and production of branded content, of National Geographic Studios, the in-house television production unit. Collab... read more

Monroe oversees global programming, operations and marketing for the portfolio of National Geographic channels around the world, which includes National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo People and Nat Geo MUNDO. Monroe is also responsible for all operations, including the development and production of branded content, of National Geographic Studios, the in-house television production unit. Collaborating with A-level creative talent, Monroe works to harness the power and reach of the National Geographic brand to position National Geographic channels as the world’s premium science, adventure and exploration networks. Since 2017, Monroe has launched four of the most viewed series in network history, including One Strange Rock from the visionary Darren Aronofsky, which was viewed by 81 million people globally, and The Hot Zone, which became Nat Geo’s most watched scripted series to date. Under her leadership, the network has garnered more critical acclaim and awards recognition than ever before. For the 2019 Emmys, National Geographic received 15 nominations, including nods for critically acclaimed documentary film Free Solo and for the unscripted series Hostile Planet and Life Below Zero – the third year in a row it has been among the top 12 outlets nominated. Currently, Monroe serves on the board of Makers, a partnership program for the advancement of female leadership in the workplace, and she has been appointed to the advisory board for the Peabody Awards.

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Nicole Morganti
Head of unscripted Italian originals, Amazon Studios

Morganti oversees the development and production of non-scripted Amazon Originals in Italy, including shows like Celebrity Hunted – Caccia all’uomo. She joined Amazon in February 2019 from Discovery Italia where she was VP talent and productions, overseeing talent management, content development and original productions for 4 free to air channels (Real Time, Nove, Dmax, Food Network) working o... read more

Morganti oversees the development and production of non-scripted Amazon Originals in Italy, including shows like Celebrity Hunted – Caccia all’uomo. She joined Amazon in February 2019 from Discovery Italia where she was VP talent and productions, overseeing talent management, content development and original productions for 4 free to air channels (Real Time, Nove, Dmax, Food Network) working on a range of projects including Bake off Italia, First Dates, Kitchen Nightmares, Ninja Warriors and Top Chef.

Previously, Morganti has worked for 6 years for Sky Italia, supporting the launch of entertainment channels and premium content as a commissioning editor on shows including X Factor, Italia’s Next top model and Masterchef. Before Sky, Morganti was an executive producer at MTV Italia producing music live events and live music shows such as TRL, Supersonic and helping in the start up and launch of Mtv Spain and Portugal in South Europe.

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Adesua Okosun
director and producer, Black Verse Studios

Okosun is a Nigeria American film director and producer, developing a world-class reputation for thought provoking storytelling. Okosun specialises in creating deeply moving projects that push the boundaries of everyday stories within African communities. She will make her directional debut with the Other Side, a series based on years of research gathered through her travels all over the African c... read more

Okosun is a Nigeria American film director and producer, developing a world-class reputation for thought provoking storytelling. Okosun specialises in creating deeply moving projects that push the boundaries of everyday stories within African communities.

She will make her directional debut with the Other Side, a series based on years of research gathered through her travels all over the African continent. The mesmerizing series, tastefully brings to light some of the most controversial topics avoided within traditional African media and humanises its characters in a light that any viewer will create a connection.

Okosun is the co-founder of Blackverse Studios, a film and creative production company that challenges the established and celebrates the uncommon stories. To date, Blackverse Studios has worked on projects in a growing list of countries such as; Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Kenya, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cuba, Thailand, Germany, the US. Headquartered in Lagos Nigeria, Blackverse is establishing itself as an authority in global media and as a gateway for showcasing the best of the continent.

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Jonathan Pascoe
Head of digital video, MTV International

Jonathan Pascoe is responsible for all video content across MTV’s social channels, emerging platforms and MTV.co.uk. Based in London, Pascoe manages a wealth of daily video content, including MTV events, news, shows, music, celebrity, movies and travel. Pascoe is also responsible for the creative direction of the video team in their production of original short and medium-form series. Pascoe rep... read more

Jonathan Pascoe is responsible for all video content across MTV’s social channels, emerging platforms and MTV.co.uk. Based in London, Pascoe manages a wealth of daily video content, including MTV events, news, shows, music, celebrity, movies and travel. Pascoe is also responsible for the creative direction of the video team in their production of original short and medium-form series. Pascoe reports into Joanna Wells, VP of Digital Content for MTV and Comedy Central International.

Prior to his role at VIMN, Pascoe was the Head of Short Form at ITN Productions where he oversaw TV, digital and audio content including entertainment news shows FYI Daily for ITV2/4 and Access for Channel 5. Previously, Pascoe worked as a Producer at Heart London.

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Philip Pratt
Head of German originals, Amazon Studios

Pratt is responsible for all German Amazon Original series which launch on Amazon Prime Video. Previously, Pratt was in charge of content licensing for Prime Video Germany, acquiring shows such as American Gods, Kevin Can Wait, Grey’s Anatomy as well as The Walking Dead. Prior to joining Amazon, Philip led the content division of Watchever GmbH and founded and managed Jakun Media UG, where he s... read more

Pratt is responsible for all German Amazon Original series which launch on Amazon Prime Video. Previously, Pratt was in charge of content licensing for Prime Video Germany, acquiring shows such as American Gods, Kevin Can Wait, Grey’s Anatomy as well as The Walking Dead.

Prior to joining Amazon, Philip led the content division of Watchever GmbH and founded and managed Jakun Media UG, where he specialized in the production and licensing of digital content.

Pratt studied film and television production at the Academy for Film and Television in Potsdam-Babelsberg, working within the film industry during as part of his studies across various companies including LICHTBLICK Filmproduktion, ZDF – Das kleine Fernsehspiel, PROGRESS Filmverleih, and the film20 pool. During this time, he produced several short and feature-length films with his own company, winning the German Film Prize and the Studio Hamburg Young Talent Prize.

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Matt Pritchard
Executive vice president, unscripted programming, television, eOne

Pritchard joins eOne from Boomerang, where he served as managing director since 2016. While there, he oversaw the successful launches of award-winning international hits What Would Your Kid Do? (ITV) and Extreme Cake Makers (Channel 4). Prior to that, he was the group director of development at Twofour, where he championed the development of some of the company’s most successful shows, including... read more

Pritchard joins eOne from Boomerang, where he served as managing director since 2016. While there, he oversaw the successful launches of award-winning international hits What Would Your Kid Do? (ITV) and Extreme Cake Makers (Channel 4). Prior to that, he was the group director of development at Twofour, where he championed the development of some of the company’s most successful shows, includingThe Jump (Channel 4), This Time Next Year (ITV), The Real Marigold Hotel (BBC One), Ibiza Weekender (ITV2), and Royal Marines Commando School (Channel 4). Before that, Pritchard was head of development at BBC Worldwide and was also a senior member of the ITV Entertainment team.

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Oscar Prol
Senior development executive, Amazon Studios

Prol looks after Unscripted in Spain, overseeing the development and production of non-scripted Amazon Originals in Spain, including shows like El Corazon de Sergio Ramos. Prior to that, Prol served as head of development at Boxfish TV for three years and before that was in charge of the development department at Warner Bros. ITVP Spain. During his time in those roles, Prol acquired, adapted and p... read more

Prol looks after Unscripted in Spain, overseeing the development and production of non-scripted Amazon Originals in Spain, including shows like El Corazon de Sergio Ramos.

Prior to that, Prol served as head of development at Boxfish TV for three years and before that was in charge of the development department at Warner Bros. ITVP Spain. During his time in those roles, Prol acquired, adapted and produced formats like Kitchen Nightmares, Undercover Boss, First Dates, The Great Spanish Bake Off and others.

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Moderator James Purnell
Director radio and education, BBC

Purnell has been leading teams across BBC radio, BBC arts, BBC music and BBC children’s and education since 2016. He first worked at the BBC in the 1990s, as head of corporate planning. He had previously been a research fellow on IPPR’s media project, and before that a strategy consultant in media and telecommunications at Hydra Associates. He left the BBC to be special adviser on the know... read more

Purnell has been leading teams across BBC radio, BBC arts, BBC music and BBC children’s and education since 2016.
He first worked at the BBC in the 1990s, as head of corporate planning. He had previously been a research fellow on IPPR’s media project, and before that a strategy consultant in media and telecommunications at Hydra Associates. He left the BBC to be special adviser on the knowledge economy, including Internet and broadcasting policy, to Tony Blair after he became Prime Minister.
Purnell was elected member of parliament for Stalybridge and Hyde, before becoming secretary of state for culture and then for work and pensions. He resigned from the government in June 2009, and stood down from parliament at the 2010 Election.
Purnell then held roles as a senior producer at Rare Day, an independent production company and an adviser to the Boston Consulting Group. Purnell returned to the BBC in 2013 as director of strategy and digital, where he was responsible for developing the BBC’s strategy in the run up to dharter review.

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Jane Root
Founder and CEO, Nutopia

Root is a leading creative executive with a reputation for innovation, determination and delivery. Root’s work was celebrated by Women in Film & TV when she was awarded the prestigious 2017 Business Award acknowledging her outstanding achievements in the industry. Nutopia, is dedicated to creating ground-breaking, specialist factual content on a global scale. Best known for pioneering a n... read more

Root is a leading creative executive with a reputation for innovation, determination and delivery. Root’s work was celebrated by Women in Film & TV when she was awarded the prestigious 2017 Business Award acknowledging her outstanding achievements in the industry.

Nutopia, is dedicated to creating ground-breaking, specialist factual content on a global scale. Best known for pioneering a new genre of television – the ‘megadoc’ – by combining epic cinematography and action-driven drama with high-end documentary and A-list talent. Recent credits include highly anticipated series ‘The World According to Jeff Goldblum’ (Disney+), award-winning earth science series ‘One Strange Rock’ (Nat Geo), critically acclaimed drama doc ‘The Last Czars’ (Netflix), and Grierson-nominated feature doc ‘The Hunt for Jihadi John’ (HBO/Channel 4).

Prior to founding Nutopia, Root spent 4 years as President of Discovery Networks, where she was responsible for developing a fresh voice for the 20 year old network. Before moving to America, Root spent 5 years at BBC2 “as one of the BBC’s most successful channel controllers”. Her time at the BBC was characterized by boldly original, popular, pioneering programming. Prior to this, she co-founded Wall-to-Wall where, as MD, she guided the company through its first 10 years to success on both sides of the Atlantic.

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Neely Shamam
EVP of programming and development, Ficto

In this role Shamam oversees the content development slate and programming strategy, and building relationships within the independent creative community. Ficto is a new premium content streaming platform optimized for mobile entertainment, focused on working with independent talent alongside Hollywood and enhancing storytelling for the mobile audience. Before joining Ficto, Shamam held leadership... read more

In this role Shamam oversees the content development slate and programming strategy, and building relationships within the independent creative community. Ficto is a new premium content streaming platform optimized for mobile entertainment, focused on working with independent talent alongside Hollywood and enhancing storytelling for the mobile audience.

Before joining Ficto, Shamam held leadership roles at both Disney’s Maker Studios, and Zone-TV, where she oversaw the development and production of dozens of series, the evolution of content distribution in digital, and the voice of multiple channels. In addition to her development and programming experience, Shamam brings to Ficto a deep knowledge and understanding of best practices and data analytics for digital-first content and streaming platforms.

As a creative collaborator and strategic thinker with an entrepreneurial and artistic spirit, Shamam is ready to explore the wild west of premium mobile entertainment.

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Philip Webb
COO, OUTtv

Webb is originally from the UK where he worked at ITV Productions on a number of factual reality hits. Since moving to Canada he has produced over 150 hours of documentary, lifestyle and reality programming. At OUTtv, Webb is responsible for the operations of the company, with a specific focus on the technical and delivery side of the business. He also continues to oversee the development and prod... read more

Webb is originally from the UK where he worked at ITV Productions on a number of factual reality hits. Since moving to Canada he has produced over 150 hours of documentary, lifestyle and reality programming. At OUTtv, Webb is responsible for the operations of the company, with a specific focus on the technical and delivery side of the business. He also continues to oversee the development and production of OUTtv’s original programming.

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Moderator Clive Whittingham
News editor, C21Media

Whittingham is news editor at C21 Media and also edits C21’s Factual Weekly newsletter. Prior to joining the company as senior reporter in 2011, he reported on news and court cases for several regional newspapers in the UK. He also covers sport for The Daily Telegraph.

Ellen Windemuth
Founder and CEO, The WaterBear Network

Windemuth, founder & CEO of Off the Fence which was recently acquired by ZDFE, teamed with Axonista to launch The WaterBear Network, the world’s first video on demand platform dedicated to the planet. She is a seasoned EP, chair of The Jackson Hole Film Festival Board and produces feature documentaries for impact.

Natalka Znak
President, Znack & Co

Znak is a multi-award-winning television producer who has created some of TV’s biggest hits, including Hell’s Kitchen, Love Island and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. She is the President of Znak & Co, the international production company she founded that specializes in entertainment, factual entertainment and factual formats, with offices in Los Angeles and London. Most recently, ... read more

Znak is a multi-award-winning television producer who has created some of TV’s biggest hits, including Hell’s Kitchen, Love Island and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. She is the President of Znak & Co, the international production company she founded that specializes in entertainment, factual entertainment and factual formats, with offices in Los Angeles and London. Most recently, the company produced Meghan Markle: An American Princess (FOX) Revolution (SKY UK, FOX),Thronecast, Gameshow of Thrones and Thronecast War Room for SKY, West:Word The Ultimate Westworld Fan Show for SKY Atlantic, the landmark music documentary Trailblazers for SKY among more.

Currently, Znak is an executive producer on season 10 of the Fox juggernaut hit MasterChef as well as MasterChef Junior. Previously, she served as CCO and then CEO of Zodiak USA where she produced shows such as Secret Millionaire (ABC), Celebrity Wife Swap (ABC), and truTV hits Hardcore Pawn, Lizard Lick Towing and Killer Karaoke. Prior to joining Zodiak, Znak served as Controller of Factual Entertainment for ITV Studios where she was responsible for creating I’m Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!, Hell’s Kitchen, and Love Island.

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