Women and Film and TV (UK) is delighted to announce Sarah Wright as the new Director of its Four Nations Mentoring Scheme for mid-career women working in film, television and the creative media.
Sarah Wright is an ICF trained professional coach with more than 25 years’ experience as a senior leader in the global film and TV industry. Most recently she was the Group Director of Acquisitions & Sky Cinema, UK & ROI where she was responsible for all pan European acquisitions, Original Film commissioning and Sky Cinema original productions, as well as the Sky Cinema service.
A world leading TV and film rights expert, Sarah brought some of the most iconic movies and shows to the UK including Modern Family, Succession, And Just Like That and the ubiquitous global hit Game of Thrones.
With an extensive network of senior commercial relationships, particularly with the Hollywood Studios, Sarah decided to leave Sky earlier this year to focus on her coaching and corporate mentoring career.
Katie Baliff, CEO, WFTV said:
“We are delighted to welcome Sarah on board as our new Director of Mentoring, she has a wealth of experience and after a long career in the UK’s major broadcasters has fantastic relationships across the industry. She will be a great asset to our Four Nations Mentoring Scheme.”
Sarah Wright says:
"I couldn’t be more thrilled to join the brilliant WFTV team and play my part in the brilliant work they do. As an executive coach, it’s a real privilege to share the wealth of my industry experience with the next generation of female leaders in the creative industries. I can’t wait to work with Katie and the mentoring producers in the nations to announce our next cohort in early 2023.”
Zai Bennett, MD Content, Sky UK says:
“Sarah is the perfect person to lead the highly respected WFTV Four Nations Mentoring Scheme. I’m sure she will bring the same drive, professionalism and collaborative approach that served her so well with us at Sky.”
The WFTV Four Nations Scheme is designed for mid-career women looking to take the next step in their careers from across the film, television, and digital media industry. 41 mentees are selected each year to undertake the 7-month programme as well as being paired with senior industry professionals for one-to-one mentoring alongside peer-to-peer training and bespoke career and personal development workshops.
Sarah takes over from former WFTV Director of Mentoring Tracy Forsyth who has successfully managed the scheme over the past five years developing it into a Four Nations Scheme to ensure more women can benefit from this unique programme across the UK. Tracy will continue to work on their professional development programme.
The England scheme is made possible by the support of the BBC, Channel 4, EON Productions, Indigo Talent, Panalux and Panavision, Pinewood Studios, Sara Putt Associates, the Women’s Network at NBC Universal and UKTV. The schemes in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are supported by Netflix and managed by mentoring producers Karen Kelly in Scotland, Hannah Corneck in Wales and Sarah McCaffrey in Northern Ireland.
The 2022 mentees graduation took place today Friday 25 November in London.