Commercial and TV production company Chief is opening an office in Sydney in May to build upon what the company says is a growing volume of work and enquiries originating out of Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region.
Chief’s co-founder and shareholder Patrick Egerton relocated to the southern hemisphere in 2011 to develop international co-productions, predominantly for children’s television. He is currently overseeing Chief’s Australian launch plans; liaising with potential partners and clients, sorting the office location and interviewing for the prospective new country managing director.
Colin Offland, Chief’s managing director said that the short list for the role was down to a final two and they were hoping to confirm the position by the end of this month, ahead of the May launch.
He added that the goodwill and interest that Egerton had encountered over the past 18 months had spurred their decision to go ahead with establishing a physical operation.
“Off the back of work we’ve been doing with Pat, a number of companies have approached us looking for high-quality branded content. The Sydney office represents a fantastic opportunity for us to continue to build on this work, create further co-production opportunities and develop a presence down under.”
One such company said Offland is Woolmark, the trade organisation that represents merino farmers.
Chief has already produced a number of promotional films for Woolmark, most recently to support the organisation’s expansion into China and Offland said they are now also working with Woolmark to develop an add-funded television format.
Chief employs 16 staff in the UK at its base in Salford. Offland told Prolific North that the company in 2012 had enjoyed its best year since launching in 2005 with sales climbing above £4m.
In November 2011 the company bought its own premises close to the MediaCity complex in Salford Quays and spent a substantial sum on refurbishing the building together with an investment of over £150,000 on new camera equipment and a new edit facility comprising three offline and two online suites to handle both internal and external post work.
The company has also strengthened its directorial team in the last 18 months with the addition of two new directors, Joe Connor and Sing Lee.
