BBC Studios has appointed Juli Porter to the newly-created position of Director of Commercial and Operations, Natural History Unit.

The Director of Commercial and Operations will be a senior business and operations position in the NHU, working in partnership with Jonny Keeling, Head of Unit, on future growth plans for the production unit.

The newly-created role will lead all business, functions (production, operations and commercial activity) with direct reports including NHU Head of Production Maria Norman. Alongside new recruit Sreya Biswas who joins in May 2025 as Director of Programmes, Porter will join the senior leadership team of the Unit.

Porter joins the NHU from Wildstar Films, where in her role as COO she oversaw production of Underdogs with Ryan Reynolds, Sentient with Darren Aronofsky and the groundbreaking series Queens.

With twenty years of production experience in the UK and US, she has worked on a vast range of top-rated and award-winning programmes including Strictly Come Dancing as well as flagship sports coverage for Formula 1, the NFL and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

Prior to joining Wildstar Films, Porter was COO at Whisper for a decade.

Jonny Keeling, Head of BBC Studios Natural History Unit, says: “Juli is a proven strategic business leader who has guided multiple companies through significant growth and transformation. Her production experience spans a variety of genres – working on some of the world’s most ambitious and popular television, on both sides of the Atlantic. Her commitment to fostering an inclusive and ambitious creative culture, and her extensive commercial expertise make her the perfect fit for the NHU. I cannot wait to work with her as we look to grow the Unit.”

Juli Porter added “I am delighted to be returning to the BBC and joining the Natural History Unit at this pivotal and exciting time. The NHU is one of the crown jewels of BBC Studios, and I can’t wait to be a part of its future as it delivers a new era of bold and brilliant programming to audiences worldwide.”

Juli Porter will take up her role in April and report to Nicola Pinn, Chief Operating Officer at BBC Studios Factual Productions.