The Grierson Trust has appointed six new Trustees following an open call for applications to join its expanded Board.
The new Trustees are Editor and Edit Consultant Zeb Achonu; Derren Lawford, founder of independent production company DARE Pictures; Rick Murray, CEO of Workerbee; director Toby Trackman; Oli Harbottle, Chief Content Officer of independent film distributor Dogwoof; and Netflix Production Executive Jessica Ross. Achonu, Lawford, Murray and Trackman join as Trustees this month, while Harbottle and Ross take up their roles in December 2025, when two of the existing Trustees come to the end of their two terms on the board.
Lorraine Heggessey, Chair of the Board of Trustees said: “The Grierson Trust has grown its activities over the last few years, creating successful new training programmes in partnership with streamers, broadcasters and production companies to identify new talent and build the careers of creatives from a wide range of backgrounds.
“As a result, we’ve decided to expand the Board to support these activities, in addition to chairing juries for the Grierson Awards. I’m thrilled to be welcoming Zeb, Derren, Rick and Toby as Trustees this month and Jess and Oli when they join usat the end of the year. I’d also like to thank our retiring Trustees for all their hard work and assistance.”
The new Trustees join Lorraine Heggessey (Chair), Sreya Biswas, Louisa Compton, Harjeet Chhokar, Guy Davies, Amali de Silva, Nelesh Dhand, Poppy Dixon, Tanya Motie, Rob Stapledon, Donna Taberer, and Maxine Watson. Davies and Stapledon will stand down from their positions in December.
New Trustees:
Zeb Achonu BFE
Zeb Achonu is an award-winning editor with over two decades’ experience in the film and TV industry. She stamped her mark on the documentary world with films covering a range of subjects including ITV’s Jimmy Akingbola: Handle with Care, Netflix series Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip Hop, and multiple award-winning feature documentary White Nanny Black Child. Her work has been screened by major broadcasters and streamers, at festivals and in cinemas, home and away.
Derren Lawford
Derren has helped launch two UK TV channels, BBC 1Xtra, an SVOD service and a content division. He has held senior roles at the BBC, London Live and Woodcut Media, where he executive produced three documentaries sold to Netflix including Generation Revolution, Cut from a Different Cloth and Mandela, My Dad and Me both co-produced with Idris Elba. In 2022 he was part of the editorial team behind BAFTA-award winning short, The Black Cop. That same year he launched DARE Pictures whose credits include Fugitive: The Mystery of the Crypto Queen, Dalton’s Dream and The Secrets of UK Prisons. In 2025, DARE was named Emerging Indie of the Year at the Broadcast Awards.
Rick Murray
Rick Murray is the CEO of Workerbee Group, the Manchester and Wrexham-based television production company specialising in premium unscripted content for UK and global audiences. He joined the company in 2013 (then known as Shine North) and became CEO in 2017, overseeing documentary projects including Janet Jackson, Bruno vs Tyson, Four Kings, Molly Mae: Behind It All and Idris Elba’s Fight School.
Toby Trackman
Toby Trackman is a Grierson-winning, BAFTA, and RTS-nominated director. Known for his beautifully crafted cinematic approach, he brings emotional sensitivity and creative ambition to every project, whether that’s with A-list talent such as Dua Lipa for Disney’s Camden, world leading creators for Netflix’s Creative, or contributors in the most sensitive of situations, such as in his double Grierson-winning BBC film Stabbed. His landmark feature doc The Last Musician of Auschwitz was a centrepiece of the BBC’s commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp and is set for theatrical release.
Oli Harbottle
Oli Harbottle has been at Dogwoof since 2006 and was part of the original team who made the decision to specialise in documentaries the following year. As Chief Content Officer, he is responsible for acquisitions across the company’s slate as well as the sourcing of projects for production. He also continues to oversee the company’s releasing slate, with a focus on talent relationships and strategic company partnerships. Notable production credits include Maiden, Playing with Sharks: The Valerie Taylor Story, The Lost Leonardo, McEnroe, Copa ’71, Swan Song, and Every Little Thing.
Jessica Ross
Jessica joined Netflix in 2022, overseeing Production for UK Documentary Series and Features. She manages a high-value portfolio of complex productions both domestically and internationally, working with multiple production partners on a broad slate of content. Alongside this, she is passionate about engaging with initiatives and training schemes both within Netflix and across the broader industry. Prior to Netflix, Jessica held several senior roles in UK production companies, working across all genres of Nonfiction content.
Jon Creamer
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