Carl Fennessy and Hugh Marks found Sydney producer, distributor Dreamchaser

Dreamchaser founders Hugh Marks and Carl Fennessy

Former Nine Entertainment CEO Hugh Marks and Endemol Shine Australia co-founder Carl Fennessy have launched a producer and distributor called Dreamchaser in Sydney.

Backed by LA-based Endeavor Content, Dreamchaser will establish a collection of creative partnerships across the scripted, factual and entertainment genres, with a focus on driving global projects out of the Australian market.

Joining Marks and Fennessy at Dreamchaser are Sara Horn as chief operating officer, Monique Keller as head of development and Megan Rees-Williams as chief financial officer.

Prior to joining Dreamchaser, Horn was MD of production and operations at Endemol Shine Australia, managing a large team across a diverse production slate including MasterChef, Gogglebox, Survivor, LEGO Masters, Married At First Sight, Ninja Warrior and Big Brother. Horn also held the position of director of production first at Crackerjack Productions and then for four years at Fremantle Australia.

Keller comes to Dreamchaser from Fremantle Australia, where she worked as a development executive across factual and scripted projects and with Audible ANZ to oversee a slate of original podcasts. She previously worked in LA as an original movies executive for Amazon Studios on more than 30 narrative and documentary titles.

Rees-Williams is a chartered accountant with over 20 years media experience who previously worked at Endemol Shine Australia. Prior to that, she spent nine years holding various senior finance positions at ITV in Sydney, London and LA.

Marks and Fennessy said in a statement: “We’re seeing an explosion of global demand for premium content from new and traditional television platforms that shows no sign of slowing. At the same time, Australian creatives are at the forefront of many of the biggest shows in the world. There has never been a greater opportunity for global content to be developed and sold from this market.

“With Endeavor Content’s strategic partnership, Dreamchaser will be a unique home for our creative partners to realise all of their ambitions and for content commissioners to have confidence that Dreamchaser will be the Australian studio where those ambitions can be delivered.”

Endeavor Content co-CEOs Chris Rice and Graham Taylor said: “We are excited for Hugh and Carl to bring their combined industry expertise to launch Dreamchaser, harnessing Australia’s flourishing creative and production communities. With Dreamchaser, Australia solidifies its standing as a major global destination for best-in-class content, bringing next-level storytelling from new and established voices from the continent to export there and to the world beyond.”

Carl’s brother and long-term collaborator Mark Fennessy launched his own indie, Helium, in Sydney at the end of last year.