That’s Techtainment – why the studio sector is ready for takeoff

James Seppala is the Head of Real Estate Europe, based in London. Since joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Seppala has been involved in a number of Blackstone’s investments across Europe, including Logicor, OfficeFirst, Sponda, and Mileway.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Seppala was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs & Co, where he spent 10 years focused on equity and debt investment opportunities in Europe and the United States on behalf of Goldman Sachs’s real estate private equity group.

Mr. Seppala graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 2001. Mr. Seppala currently serves as Chairman of Sponda, is on the board of The Office Group and Kereby, and chairs the European Advisory Board of the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center at the Wharton School.

Victor J. Coleman serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Hudson Pacific Properties, and was the founder and Managing Partner of Hudson Pacific’s predecessor, Hudson Capital. Coleman previously co-founded and led Arden Realty as its President and Chief Operating Officer and as a Director. Coleman serves on the boards of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics, Young Presidents’ Organization Gold Los Angeles, Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission, as well as its philanthropic initiative, ChampionLA. Coleman previously served on the boards of several public companies, including Douglas Emmett, and he currently serves as a trustee on the board of Kite Realty. Coleman has been honored with the City of Hope’s Spirit of Life Award from the Los Angeles Real Estate & Construction Industries Council, the Real Star of Hollywood Award from the Friends of the Hollywood Central Park, and was recognized as a Treasure of Los Angeles by Central City Association. He is an investor in the NHL team, Vegas Golden Knights.

Adrian Wootton OBE is Chief Executive of the British Film Commission and Film London. Adrian is a Programme Advisor to the BFI London Film Festival, Venice Film Festival and Noir in Fest, Milan, and Founding Director of Shots in the Dark Festival, Nottingham. In 2012 Adrian received an Honorary Doctorate in the Arts and was appointed Visiting Professor of Film & Media at Norwich University of the Arts. In 2014 Adrian received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of East Anglia and in 2017 was awarded an OBE for Services to Film . Most recently, Adrian has led the BFC’s work to develop the COVID-19 Production guidance for Film and High-end TV drama, as part of the BFI’s wider COVID-19 Screen Sector Recovery Task Force.

Samantha worked in theatre stage management and in film and television production, post production and locations before joining the British Film Commission (BFC) in 2004. Samantha worked closely with Government and industry in developing the UK’s Creative Sector Tax Reliefs and was seconded to run the Certification Unit at the UK Film Council overseeing British qualification for the Film Tax Relief. As Head of Production UK, Samantha leads the UK team, providing tailored production support, guidance and troubleshooting to major international film and television projects from development through to delivery. She additionally oversees the BFC’s work supporting and promoting the UK film and television infrastructure globally and is responsible for liaising between the industry and Government to secure and maintain production-friendly policies. She was instrumental in the creation of the BFC’s Working Safely During COVID-19 in Film and High-end TV Drama Production guidance which was launched in June 2020. Samantha has assisted on many high profile projects for international film and television clients including A+E, Amazon, Amblin, AMC, Apple TV+, Disney, HBO, Lionsgate, Lucasfilm, Marvel, MRC, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Starz, Twentieth Century Studios, Universal and Warner Media. Samantha was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List 2019 for services to the film and TV industry.