Story Lab branches out to Ukraine

London-based international producer, investor and distributor The Story Lab has extended its global reach by launching a branch in Ukraine.

The Story Lab Ukraine was announced by Story Lab global president Michael Iskas and Julia Karpushina, CEO of Amplifi Ukraine. Amplifi is the media investment division of Story Lab’s parent company, Dentsu Aegis Network.

Story Lab’s Ukrainian branch will be spearheaded by Iliya Rzhondkivsky, who will become MD, and Pavel Cherepin, who takes up the position of development director.

Both have a prior connection to the Story Lab brand, having previously worked for Dentsu Aegis Network as head of sponsorship and content director, respectively.

Iskas said: “Ukraine is a growing market and is becoming a more and more influential part of the CEE region, with a variety of formats and series being produced and sold locally.

“We look forward to developing our offering and growing our partnerships with local producers, broadcasters and brands.”

The Story Lab has been expanding its international outlook significantly of late, having hired Donovan Castillo-Mohlman from Asian SVoD service iflix to head up its Asia-Pacific operations.

It has also been looking to create opportunities in new markets and recently took a majority stake in digital-first talent agency, Gleam Futures in the UK.

The Story Lab recently announced a raft of programmes as part of its formats slate for next month’s Mipcom.