Film consultancy company, Grey Seal Media, has made two key hires; Sara Durante joins as Head of Business Operations and Mair Williams joins as Head of Legal, Governance & Risk.
Durante joins from A Thousand Blows producer; The Story Collective and Williams joins from global law firm Latham & Watkins.
Operations executive Durante has worked for companies including Zodiak Media, Paramount Pictures and Lookout Point, before helping set up The Story Collective in 2019; Durante was responsible for supporting and integrating investee companies including Artis Pictures, Mighty Pebble Pictures, and Maia Pictures.
Sara Durante says, “I have always loved supporting creative people, enabling them to focus on storytelling whilst I manage everything else. I have hit the ground running handling aspects for Grey Seal clients in a more cost-effective way than was previously possible, and I am delighted by the prospect of working as the company engine for multiple clients alongside the impressive Grey Seal team.”
Mair Williams says, “it is a pivotal time to be joining Grey Seal and focusing my expertise in this sector. The most efficient way for media companies to avoid becoming the next tabloid headline is to have systems in place that prevent wrongdoing. I hope that most of my time is spent helping clients do just that, but when needed, I am also ready to help put out the fire.”
Grey Seal founder Clare Hardwick says, “Sara’s ability to take on operations support autonomously means that she can free up time and save money for our clients in areas that they perhaps hadn’t even considered. The combination of Sara’s skills in the smooth running of the day-to-day operations and Mair’s expertise when things get more complex is a unique and potent offering.”
Hardwick continues, “Mair has a way of cutting through daunting business-critical issues with scalpel precision, making them not only manageable but empowering for our clients It is an exciting prospect to be able to provide her services as part of Grey Seal’s suite of resources especially at such a critical and demanding time for our industry. We are glad to be able to provide re-assuring support to those creatives at the coal face.”
Grey Seal Media’s roster of clients includes A24 Films, Anonymous Content and the team behind Ellen Kuras’s Lee, on which Hardwick acted as an executive producer.
Jon Creamer
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