I’m a former recruiter who placed more than 2,000 professionals into new roles, before becoming an executive coach and the award-winning (exited) Founder/CEO of the venture-backed Edtech company, Careercake - voted UK’s #1 career development platform. As founder and CEO, I defied the odds by securing both VC and angel investments across two continents, despite operating in a landscape where less than 2% of funding is invested into a female founded company. In 2022 my company was successfully acquired.

Alexandra Finlay is a consultant offering creative & strategic expertise in scripted development, co-production, and acquisitions.

She was formerly VP, International Scripted Co-Pros at A+E Global Media where she identified premium English language opportunities with global appeal, overseeing the development and distribution pipelines in collaboration with producers, commissioners, and other industry partners.

Before that she was VP Creative and Co-Productions at Shaftesbury where she grew the international drama slate out of London and forged new partnerships.

Before pivoting into development, Alex was a UK network buyer. As Head of Acquisitions and Co-Productions at UKTV, she was a key contributor to the network's market-beating growth, leading commercial relationships with the US studios, devising and implementing highly effective programming strategies and leading high level negotiations to deliver award-winning acquisitions and distinctive first-run IP via pre-sales and coproductions with UK and global partners.

Prior to UKTV she was an Editor at Channel 4 programming films across C4, More4 and E4. In her early career she was a production assistant and programme executive at the BBC.

A graduate of the NFTS' prestigious Script Development Diploma, her credits include international procedural hit Murdoch Mysteries (CBC/ITVGS), The Sounds (Acorn/All3Media), Dead Still (RTE/ZDF Enterprises), SisterS (AMC/Fremantle), and the latest thriller from the European Alliance The Kollective ((France TV, RAI, ZDF).

Alex has served as a BAFTA, Royal Television Society, C21 Drama Awards and Asian Creative Academy awards juror and has mentored emerging talent independently and for organisations including Screenskills and WFTV.

Angelene Woodland is the Chief Customer Officer at the British Business Bank, having joined in April 2019. She is focused on delivering the Bank’s mission for our customers, to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses. Angelene is dedicated to driving and evidencing positive impact and outcomes for the Bank and its customers.  Her passion lies in driving change to instigate transformative shifts in behaviour and culture, that will benefit our colleagues, our customers and our sustainability goals.  

With an extensive career spanning over 25 years in the field of marketing and communications, Angelene has brought a wealth of expertise to the Bank. Encompassing stints on both agency and client side, Angelene has contributed to the success of notable organisations such as Bupa UK, The Shop Direct Group, and the British School of Paris.

After two decades in unscripted TV, Danni made a bold shift into digital media, founding a social-first agency which partners with exceptional talent to grow their reach and revenue across multi-platforms. Focusing on feed cleansing content and community building for all ages, her work bridges creativity and strategy, with added authentic heart and soul.

A Gen X leader, powered by a brilliant Gen Z team, Danni has spearheaded standout successes including organically growing Ruben Namibia to over 6m+ followers and 1b+ views across Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok in just 18 months. Within six months, her team also launched Coleen Nolan and Matt Tebbutt’s YouTube channels, developing original, TV-style formats that older audiences connect with.

Elaine is Project Manager for the UK Global Screen Fund at the BFI. Her role includes assessing the financial elements of applications to all the funding strands, including the International Co-production fund. She was previously Production Executive for the Young Audiences Content Fund and is an external assessor for Coimisiún na Meán’s Sound & Vision Scheme in Ireland. Her background is primarily in children’s television and animation production, where she has developed, production-managed and script edited on several international co-productions. She was Script Editor on Series 3 of Go Jetters, on comedy education series Ask Lara, and on Toot the Tiny Tugboat; and was a Development and Animation producer at Red Kite Animation, Super Umami and Once Were Farmers in Scotland, before moving to Manchester in 2018, where she has also worked for BBC Children’s and Kilogramme Animation.

Emma Grazette is an award-winning British-Barbadian creative producer and co-director of Raucous Pictures, a London-based production company specialising in globally minded, commercially viable film and television co-productions. She currently produces Death in Paradise (BBC) - one of the broadcaster’s most successful scripted series filmed in Guadeloupe and broadcast in over 230 territories worldwide.

With a focus on Caribbean and African-diaspora narratives, Emma champions culturally rooted stories with international resonance. At Raucous, she and co-director Kurban Kassam (BAFTA winner and ACE Producers board member) lead a diverse slate of projects, including five feature films in development with BBC Film and the BFI. Among them is Queen Nanny, a war-adventure epic about Jamaica’s national heroine, written by Yasmin Joseph (J’Ouvert, A Thousand Blows). Raucous also co-produced The Birthday Party, starring Willem Dafoe, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival.

Emma holds an MA in Producing from the National Film and Television School, supported by a BAFTA scholarship, and a BA in English and Caribbean Literature. Her graduation films received top honours - one winning a Student Academy Award, another earning Gold at Cannes Lions.

In 2024, Emma was selected for Creative England’s Female Founders programme, which supports high-growth, female-led screen businesses. She also took part in the inaugural Cross Continental Forum in Barbados, connecting producers from the UK, Canada, Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean. Dividing her time between Europe and the Caribbean, Emma is dedicated to fostering a sustainable, collaborative pan-Caribbean screen ecosystem through bold, globally impactful storytelling.

Fiona Gillies worked extensively in Film & TV as an actor before becoming an independent film producer and, along with Christine Hartland and Mahesh Ramachandra, one of the co-founders of My SMASH Media.

My SMASH Media is an IP matchmaking platform for the Creative Industries, starting in film & TV. SMASH is like a dating app for creative projects. The platform provides Creators with pitch-building and IP protection tools and offers Industry Professionals a cost-effective and efficient way to discover innovative projects.

2024 Winner: Best Pitch. Edinburgh University AI Accelerator - AI for Good

2024 - Selected for the Creative Catalyst supported by Innovate UK for the SXSW Programme.

2023 - Winner: Gold Award in Tech & Innovation, Cannes Film Festival 2021 &

2024 - Awarded Innovate UK Smart & Future Economies in the Creative Industries Grants

Prior to SMASH, Fiona produced THE BEAT BENEATH MY FEET which was in competition at the Berlin Film Festival and subsequently released worldwide. DUMMY, which premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival and BIFA nominated CITY SLACKER are available in over 40 countries worldwide. She’s worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal National Theatre and major broadcasters and worldwide streamers.

Fiona is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has been a mentor for Women in Film & TV.

Helen Oldham is a Co Founder of Lifted Ventures. Their mission is to increase the flow of early stage capital to regional, female founders, and to promote the significant business benefits of backing women. The Lifted Ventures flywheel has an angel network at its core, alongside investment literacy education for women founders and investors. Lifted have helped to raise over £11m in under two years.

She is an Investor, a Board member of the UKBAA, a NED, and consultant.

Previously Helen was a Founding Board Director of multi award winning NorthInvest, and in 2020 she launched Fund Her North, a collective of women in VCs who support female founders to get equal access to finance.
Prior to this Helen was Managing Director of the Yorkshire Post and The Scotsman.

Jade Beason swapped her corporate marketing career for life as a full-time creator and multi-business entrepreneur - and hasn’t looked back. After eight years in marketing, she launched her YouTube channel and turned it into a six-figure business within months. Today, Jade runs multiple ventures: The Creator Project, a digital community helping creators turn passion into profit, and Social People, a social media marketing agency blending cultural insight with data to make content that actually works. Her work has attracted an audience of over 350,000 creators and entrepreneurs, and she’s hosted events for global giants like Google, Apple, and Meta. Whether she’s on stage, online, or strategising behind the scenes, Jade’s mission is simple: to show creators and brands how they can make social media their superpower.

After 20 years of experience of broadcast-adjacent digital content, Janine co-founded 4Studio to build a digital centre of excellence at Channel 4. With a team of over 100, producing over 30K assets per year, her remit covers social media, original and branded content production, podcasting, training and development and cross-department leadership.

A love of entertainment and a passion for digital has been at the heart of Janine’s career; at a first stint at Channel 4 as Entertainment Editor and ITV as Head of Digital Entertainment; overseeing shows like I'm a Celebrity, Saturday Night Takeaway and Love Island. In addition, on the brand side, she’s set up creative teams at Ogilvy, bringing digital inspiration to brands such as British Airways, Land Rover and American Express. All this resulting in a range of award wins and nominations from BAFTAs to Webbys. She's also a qualified executive coach and certified mediator.

Jiella has been at the forefront of global content distribution for over two decades, pioneering the use of technology to connect audiences with film and television. Her career spans senior roles at Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, NBCUniversal, and British kids entertainment unicorn, Moonbug. As Founder and CEO of 8 Lions, Jiella leads a diverse team building digital-first entertainment franchises for kids and teens. Their mission is to create globally resonant, data-informed properties that inspire and entertain - shaping the future of youth entertainment across cultures, from the East and Middle East to the West.

Jo Redfern is a leading content and platform strategist specialising in youth media and digital engagement. She is the founder of Futrhood Media, and advises global brands and sports rights holders on how to connect with young audiences, including Gen Z and Gen A, across YouTube, Social Gaming (Roblox), TikTok and broadcast.

She is known for insight-led thinking and cross-platform creativity and turning generational media behaviours into commercial opportunities. Clients include The Premier League, The R&A and previous experience with Peppa Pig, Disney, WWE and BBC in the UK including the award-winning CBeebiesLand theme park and Hotel.

She was Exec Producer of Cozmo & Friends, a YouTube-first animated series and Roblox experience and currently co-hosts the podcasts 'The Kids Media Club' and 'The Attention Shift'.

Lisa joined ITV Studios in 2020 as Managing Director, International Production, overseeing the running of ITV Studios’ leading production labels outside the UK and US, developing business strategy and vision and identifying growth opportunities in new and existing markets.

Reporting directly to Julian Bellamy, Managing Director ITV Studios, Lisa is part of the ITV Studios senior management team. She works closely with the managing directors of ITV Studios’ international labels (ITV Studios Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iberia, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, as well as TM Studios in France, Cattleya in Italy, Cattleya Producciones and Plano a Plano in Spain, Apple Tree Productions, Happy Duck in Belgium, Lingo Pictures in Australia, and Windlight Pictures in Germany) as well as local, international and global television networks and platforms.

Lisa was previously CEO Creative Networks at Endemol Shine Group. A creative TV professional with more than 25 years’ experience in programme production and development, playing a pivotal role in the growth and profitability of ESG’s Scripted and Non-Scripted production and development across 65 countries. She has launched and rolled out formats including The Wall and All Together Now (16 territories and the biggest travelling format of 2019) and sustained the renewal of Big Brother and MasterChef.

Prior to this, Lisa was Creative Director and MD Shine Creative Networks, and Director of Commissioning, Entertainment at UKTV from 2008 – 2011; preceding this had many production and development roles at progressive levels of responsibility.

In 2022, Lisa also joined the Ascot Authority as a Non-Executive Director.

Louise leads on the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) mandate at Praetura Ventures, where her role involves managing early-stage and growth investments across the North of England. This includes NPIF II funding for North West-based companies such as MOJO–CX, Atomik AM and The Padel Club. A chartered accountant, Louise spent nine years at KPMG before joining Praetura Ventures, which has recently announced plans to merge with Par Equity to form PXN Group (subject to FCA approval). Since 2017, Louise has been central to expanding Praetura’s regional presence, supporting founders through the investment lifecycle and building strong relationships with local partners, investors and stakeholders.

Nicola Shindler is a prolific, multi award-winning British television producer who has created some of the UK’s most memorable series and worked with many of its most lauded names.

With over 25 years’ experience and renowned for her relationships with writers, Nicola has collaborated with leading talent to produce some of the UK’s most successful dramas, including It’s A Sin, Harlan Coben’s Stay Close, Ridley Road, No Return, Years and Years, Happy Valley, Queer As Folk, Traces, Last Tango in Halifax, Butterfly, Harlan Coben’s The Stranger, and Finding Alice.

Through her production company, Quay Street Productions, Nicola has released Nolly (ITVX), written by Russell T Davies, Significant Other (ITVX), Men Up (BBC), After The Flood (ITV), Dead Hot (Prime Video), The Red King (UKTV), and Harlan Coben’s Missing You (Netflix).

Fool Me Once (Netflix), another Harlan Coben adaptation, became one of the Top 10 most popular English-language Netflix shows of all time in 2024, with over 94 million views.

Run Away, the latest Harlan Coben series for Netflix, is now in production, alongside a second series of After the Flood for ITV. The Stolen Girl (Disney+) launched this year, with Lazarus (Prime Video) and The Guest (BBC) set for 2025.

Nicole Finnan is a Film and TV expert with over 25 years of experience in the media sector and the founder of Jaeger Media Limited in June 2025. She previously served as Managing Director of Caryn Mandabach Productions (CMP), producer of PEAKY BLINDERS. Within 18 months, she restructured CMP into a profitable business, identified key buyers, and oversaw the sale to Banijay. Nicole also worked with Steven Knight and Banijay on the Peaky Brand.

Previously, Nicole spent nine years at Eleventh Hour Films (EHF) as Managing Director, with a 25% stake sold to Sony in 2018. Her achievements included leading the corporate sale to Sony and executive producing series such as Alex Rider, Safe House, Magpie Murders, and Foyle's War.

Before EHF, she worked at Ruby Films with Alison Owen, founding the TV division. She executive-produced dramas including Case Histories for the BBC and Toast. The company was nominated for Broadcast Production Company of the Year in 2010.

Nicole started at KPMG as a Graduate ACA trainee, gaining skills in corporate finance, M&A, and management. She then joined Ecosse Films as Commercial and Finance Director in 1998. Over nine years, she grew the business organically, establishing Ecosse as a recognised brand in film and TV. Revenues reached £23 million, and Ecosse featured in The Times FAST TRACK 100. Her responsibilities included complex financing, tax arrangements, and executive producing three films—Brideshead Revisited, Becoming Jane, Wilderness—and a TV film, My Boy Jack and working on TV drama series, including Mistresses and seven seasons of Monarch of the Glen.

Ornagh is an XR artist, director, and co-founder of Immersives, a studio at the forefront of transforming how fans connect with the acts they love. With a background in music and fashion, Ornagh now blends world-building, Unreal Engine, and AI-driven storytelling to create immersive tickets—unique, gamified experiences that transform audiences from mere viewers into active participants.

In her work, the "immersive ticket" is a gateway: it invites superfans to step inside richly layered digital worlds and become co-creators of the narrative. Whether through immersive theatre, metaverse performances, or AI-enhanced storytelling, Ornagh’s creations are built around the idea of fostering deep, interactive fan communities.

Since launching her XR studio in 2023 and co-founding Immersiv.es in 2025, Ornagh has premiered critically acclaimed mixed reality production 'The Ode Islands'. At Immersiv.es she turns fandom into a living, creative space. She is redefining how we experience and monetize storytelling in the age of immersive technology.

Sarah Brin is an executive producer and creative industries advisor specializing in R&D for immersive experiences and creative technology. She has previously worked for LEGO, Sony PlayStation, Meow Wolf, Rolls-Royce, SFMOMA, Superflux, Watershed, and others. With extensive hands-on production experience, Sarah bridges her clients’ artistic vision with practical execution, ensuring that her projects maintain their edge throughout the development process.

Sarah’s practice is inherently interdisciplinary; she combines timely cultural and technological perspectives with the practical knowledge of how to get ambitious things done. Her clients come to her with juicy problems that range from building creative teams, connecting with audiences, creating new business models and more.

With a track record of delivering multi-million dollar projects on-time and under-budget, Sarah excels at translating artistic concepts into executable systems. Her deep understanding of both creative methodologies and production processes enables her to navigate the tension between artistic ambition and real-world action.

Sarah is a voting member of BAFTA and a recipient of the Creative Producers International Fellowship supported by Watershed and British Council. Her writing has been published by Routledge, SFMOMA, Vice, Digital Works and elsewhere. She has delivered keynotes and presentations to audiences at SXSW, ICOM, Gamescom, Eyeo, LIFT, the Game Developers Conference, Playable City and other venues all over the world. You can learn more about her work at www.sarahbrin.com.

Commercial leader with over 20 years' experience of building digital media businesses, maximising the global value of IP, and new models of tech-enabled audience engagement and content distribution. Former Director of Distribution and member of the Executive Leadership Team at ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial broadcaster. Founded, scaled and exited content and media-tech businesses across the television, film, sports and education industries.

Experienced Non-Executive Director and Trustee. Recognised in The Everline Future 50, Drum DADI Awards, Drum Online Media Awards, BIMA 100, Screen Awards and Startups 100. Oscar-nominated, BIFA-nominated and twice BAFTA Scotland-winner from early career as a film/TV producer.

Sophie is an Engagement Producer at the Film and TV Charity, empowering the industry to prioritise mental health by using the Charity’s free resources and services to support behaviour and culture change.  Sophie has 15+ years' experience across the industry, from development and production, to distribution and exhibition.   She studied the NFTS Script Development PGDip and has produced many short films, including BFI-backed Homegrown.  She managed talent development schemes BFI NETWORK@LFF and BBC Arts New Creatives Southwest, delivering 50+ shorts for BBC platforms.  Previously, Sophie was an Assistant Director on features and HETV, working closely with Mike Leigh on Peterloo. She is a MH First Aider, BAFTA Connect member and was selected for EIFF Talent Lab 2022.

Dr Tamanda Walker is a sociologist, researcher, and Executive Producer and Co-Host of Rigour & Flow - an award-nominated podcast exploring the intersections of identity, business, creativity and culture, with a growing audience across the UK and Global South. She is a Director at AiAi Studios, a Black- and queer women-led storytelling company working across podcast, film, and TV, and Founder and Director of Roots & Rigour - a knowledge consultancy that uses participatory research, storytelling, and systems thinking to address inequality and drive change.

With over 15 years of experience working across media, research, and strategy, Tamanda brings a deeply grounded perspective to the realities of founding, funding, and sustaining values-led creative businesses. She holds a PhD on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace and has worked extensively in the fields of mental health and racial justice, including as lead researcher at Black Thrive Global. Her work spans maternal health, policing, community organising, and the creative industries.

Tamanda’s own experience as a founder, researcher, and queer Black woman in production and consultancy shapes her honest take on burnout, ambition, and the myth of “having it all.” Whether on mic, on set, or in strategy rooms, she is committed to centring lived experience and building new narratives about leadership, care, and what success can and should look like for women in business.

Tami Kuboye is the Angel Investment Pillar Lead at the Invest in Women Taskforce (IWT) and a seasoned Digital Programme Manager with over 15 years of technology delivery experience in global banking. With a professional law degree and a strong background in financial services and life assurance, Tami has successfully led global, cross-functional teams to drive meaningful change in dynamic environments At IWT, she focuses on delivering practical and scalable solutions that emphasise the crucial role of angel syndicates and women angel investors. Together with the wider Taskforce, the pillar enables female founders to access vital angel investment, fostering economic growth and advancing gender parity within the UK's angel investment landscape.

Tanya is the co-founder of Say More Studios, a female-led company she runs with her wing-woman business partner, Amy. Her career has spanned iconic music videos with Hammer & Tongs in the late 90s/early 00s, AD-ing on TV drama, scriptwriting in Los Angeles, producing live music events, and developing documentary and factual television. Across it all, she has built a reputation for turning noisy, non-linear ideas into bold creative visions that connect people and spark change.

Her lived experience of ADHD, long-term health conditions, and repeated burnout has shown her what the industry can do to people. That’s why Say More Studios was born: to help embed access, inclusion, and care alongside creativity and craft - and to do things differently. Tanya leads with vulnerability, openly sharing her story as a way of building trust, connection, and new ways of working. She also champions Youth Voice and co-production models, ensuring young people and emerging talent aren’t just represented but directly shaping the work.

At Say More Studios, mental health, neurodiversity, and inclusion are built into every process, with an active approach to supporting colleagues and collaborators to bring their whole selves to the workplace. One of their missions is to transform working cultures and plant the seeds for lasting change.

Say More is now building a pioneering slate: developing TIPTIME, a trauma-informed training programme that moves beyond compliance, rooted instead in radical kindness; scaling a creative careers initiative for primary schools to tackle the opportunities gap early; a kid-led music show exploring creative learning through brilliant music; and an anthology docu-series capturing the raw experiences of birth parents in adoption - all through bold collaborations and partnerships that join the dots across the creative landscape.

TERRI DWYER has been a dynamic presence on both the big and small screen for nearly 30 years. Her deep-rooted experience in the entertainment industry made her transition into producing a natural evolution. Her first project as a producer led to the writer receiving a prestigious Olivier Award nomination. She later produced the feature film BREAK, starring Hollywood legend Rutger Hauer in his final on-screen performance before his passing. In September 2020, at the height of the global pandemic, Terri founded Buffalo Dragon, an independent production company. Its debut project, the psychological thriller THE STRANGER IN OUR BED, was adapted from a USA Today bestselling novel. In a remarkable 10-week turnaround from script completion to filming, the project came to life. The film premiered on Showtime in August 2022 to critical acclaim and was released in the UK by Signature Entertainment on September 5, 2022. It went on to win Best Thriller 2023 at the National Film Awards, triumphing over major studio releases. Buffalo Dragon’s second feature, BOLAN'S SHOES, brought together an award-winning team, including BAFTA-winning actor Timothy Spall, BAFTA-nominated and BIFA-winning editor Chris Gill, and BAFTA-nominated, RTS-winning writer Ian Puleston-Davies. The film earned multiple accolades, including Best Feature Film 2024 at the National Film Awards, and was recently nominated for a BAFTA Cymru. Beyond her work in production, Terri has continually honed her skills through competitive industry programs. In 2021, she was selected by Creative UK for the Market Trader program, an intensive six-month training course led by industry specialists. The following year, she was chosen for the highly selective Female Founders program, working under the guidance of Erica Wolfe-Murray, a renowned business and innovation expert specializing in scaling creative companies. With a keen eye for compelling storytelling and a drive for innovation, Terri Dwyer continues to significantly impact the film industry.