Richard Bond joins Banijay UK from Dragonfly, factual prodco reveals new leadership team
Dragonfly MD Richard Bond is leaving the Banijay-owned factual prodco after eight years to take up the newly created role of creative director, factual drama, at Banijay UK.
Starting his new position in June, he will report to Banijay UK CEO Patrick Holland. Bond is tasked with building a slate of factual drama commissions and working with scripted labels across the group to develop and produce scripted projects based on real life events.
Dragonfly (Date My Mate) has now announced a new leadership team. Ros Ponder and Will Rowson have been named co-creative directors, while Alison Seymour will become director of production and operations.
Bond joined Dragonfly as creative director in late 2016 and has been responsible for over 200 hours of shows and feature docs including Ambulance, My Dad the Peace Deal and Me and Surgeons at the Edge of Life, all for the BBC, and Forced Out (Sky).
During his tenure at Dragonfly, the company has seen turnover and operating profit double in size.
Bond previously served as head of UK factual at Raw TV, where he was instrumental in growing its slate of factual drama, including Conviction: Murder at the Station for BBC2, and The People Next Door and Cyberbully for Channel 4.
He has a strong record in factual drama, with credits including the Jack Thorne-written Then Barbara Met Alan (BBC/Netflix), which told the story of disability rights activists Barbara Lisicki and Alan Holdsworth.
Bond presently has a scripted series in development with Banijay UK drama label The Forge Entertainment, for an as-yet-unspecified broadcaster.
Patrick Holland said: “Richard is a fantastic leader, and the team have won numerous awards under his direction and have been responsible for some of the biggest documentary brands on television.
“He has always had a passion for factual drama and is the perfect creative leader to galvanise ideas in this growing market.”
Richard Bond said: “I’ve absolutely loved running Dragonfly and will dearly miss all the staff and freelancers who work so hard to make it such a brilliant company.
“But my passion is telling true stories in the most impactful, creative way possible, and audiences are increasingly hungry for factual drama, so the prospect of collaborating with Banijay’s best-in-class scripted labels to bring more of these projects to fruition is a dream come true.”
Within Dragonfly’s new leadership team, Ros Ponder has been upped from his previous role as director of programmes. She joined the company in 2018, working on shows like Face Doctors, Date my Mate and Cops Like Us.
Will Rowson is elevated from creative director, Dragonfly North. The former Channel 4 commissioner has credits on docs such as Killed by a Rich Kid and Top Guns: Inside the RAF.
Finally, Alison Seymour joined Dragonfly in 2018 and has been promoted from director of production. She will now lead on commercial strategy.
Patrick Holland said: “Ros, Will and Ali are a formidable senior team, and I have every confidence that they will continue to grow Dragonfly. Premium documentary remains a strategic priority to the business and Dragonfly is a leading brand in this area.”
