WildBear Entertainment, Australia’s largest independent documentary studio, has revealed a strengthened and refocused leadership team as part of a strategic restructure designed to accelerate global growth and position the business for the next era of factual content creation.
Under company co-founder and longtime CEO Michael Tear, the new-look leadership comprises an eight-strong team. Joint co-founder Serge Ou becomes Head of Creative Services, overseeing the studio’s creative capabilities across production, post-production, design and visual effects, while award-winning producer and former ABC Head of Documentary and Factual Alan Erson is in the newly created role of Managing Director, Head of Premium Television, leading WildBear’s premium factual slate and creative strategy.
Executive Producer Craig Meade has been promoted to become Head of International TV, while Harriet Pike takes on a pivotal new role as Chief Strategy & Growth Officer, overseeing International activities with an expanded remit that includes digital and post services, catalogue and rights, and commercial growth, ensuring WildBear continues to build value from both new productions, strategic partnerships and its extensive catalogue. Meade and Pike will work increasingly closely with WildBear’s long-term international partner Wild Thring Media to identify new commissioning opportunities, strengthen co-production relationships and maximise the global commercial potential of WildBear’s content across broadcast, streaming, digital and emerging platforms.
Rounding out the new senior team are; Caroline Nicols, Chief Financial Officer, Matt Nightingale, Head of Production and Miranda Kelly, Head of Production Finance.
Starting life nearly four decades ago, WildBear Entertainment has grown from a small, producer-led Australian prodco into an internationally respected, multi-award-winning studio, which today employs more than 100 people across five locations in Australia and New Zealand and creates, produces and distributes more than 150 hours of factual storytelling each year. Recent TV series include Stuff the British Stole, Rise of the Dictators, Wildlife ER and Gem Hunters Down Under, while notable films include Every Little Thing and Playing with Sharks.
In addition, the business has now formalised its thriving creative services work into three new divisions; Post-production, Design & VFX and Content & Experiences. WildBear also owns Content Mint, a leading footage and archive collection specialising in the natural world. Partners across the various business streams include Netflix, BBC, Disney, ZDF, Foxtel, ABC, Nine, Seven, Stan, SBS, the Australian War Memorial and the National Museum of Australia.
Michael Tear, Chief Executive Officer of WildBear Entertainment, says, “Our industry is undergoing the biggest transformation we’ve seen in decades and while WildBear has always quietly weathered every change, the time felt right to really get ahead of things, analyse all the forces at work and decide how we best want to meet the challenges ahead to steer our own future.
“The new leadership structure brings together some of the strongest creative and commercial talent in Australia and sends a clear message to the market about our abilities and intentions. It gives us the focus to continue producing bold, world-class factual content at scale – telling ambitious true stories for a range of audiences – while expanding internationally, building new partnerships and creating greater long-term cross-platform value from our intellectual property, rights and creative services.
“The appetite for distinctive, high-quality stories has never been greater, and we are now well placed to take full advantage – from ‘developing on demand’ to thinking creatively around funding – to ensure all our partners get what they need. As we now look forward, we are more fired up than ever to deliver diverse projects that are creatively ambitious, emotionally engaging and unmistakably WildBear.”
