About

Meet the team

Lagonda Studios boasts one of the most experienced teams of film studio development and entertainment experience consultants in the industry, who have worked on some of the most exciting studio projects in the UK.

Welcome to the creative powerhouse that is Lagonda Studios.

Darren Browne

CEO

Darren has a wealth of experience leading and facilitating commercial success across a range of private, public, and non-governmental organisations. He has led complex multi-stakeholder environments both internally and externally across various local communities and authorities, government agencies, and corporate organisations.

As director of Shinfield Studios, Darren conceptualised and led the development of a new 1,000,000-square-foot complex of 18 sound stages within the Thames Valley Science Park. This pioneering and sustainable innovation park features 270 acres of commercial development (including ‘Cine Valley’, of which Shinfield Studios is the anchor tenant), and is projected to create approximately 15,000 new jobs in the local area.

Chris Borde

Head of Commercial

With over 30 years’ experience in the media and entertainment sector, Chris’s expertise covers a broad range of verticals including film, television, music and live events; public offerings; asset backed securitisations; debt and equity financings; bankruptcies; and general advisory.

Chris has valued over $10 billion in media and entertainment assets, helped raise over $4 billion in debt, restructured over $2 billion in debt, and provided advisory services to over 70 clients worldwide.

Bebe O'Shea

Head of Talent, Training & Education

A thought leader and expert in creative industries, talent, and education with two decades’ experience across the private, grammar, state, further education, and higher education sectors, Bebe is passionate about creating opportunities for underrepresented young adults, as well as building strong careers within the film and television industry.

As well as experience running a successful industry skills training school, Bebe has written and delivered courses for numerous further education colleges and universities including Creative Media Skills Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire College Group, and Buckinghamshire New University. She has also written and led the education strategy for Cine Valley and Shinfield Studios, and is currently working with Marlow Studios in writing and delivering their education and skills strategy.

Darrell Mott

Head of Operations

Darrell has extensive media operations experience as an Executive Director (Digital) of Granada / ITV. As head of Digital & Media Operations for Arsenal Football Club, he led the commercial development of Arsenal TV and the transition of Arsenal FC’s digital property from Granada TV / Arsenal JV into Arsenal Broadband Ltd. His team pioneered online micro payments for live televised football matches, was the first to market with micro televised clips, and brought the first live (streaming) football matches to mass market.

Christopher Mustafa Kirwan

Consultant

A multi-disciplinary designer and educator with expertise combining urban planning, architecture, product design, branding, and new media, Christopher has special expertise in smart cities, information architecture, system visualization and design, as well as ongoing research advancing Urban Media and the interface of physical and virtual systems.

Christopher recently published Smart Cities and Artificial Intelligence: Convergent Systems for Planning, Design and Operations, a book focusing on the convergence of humans, technology, and nature in the context of the evolution of cities and artificial intelligence.

Karen Purcell

Head of Real Estate

For almost 23 years Karen has been a property management and development consultant to developers and individual clients. Setting up her own business, Karen gained first-hand experience of the planning and construction process and has been pivotal in bringing many developments from greenfield sites to completion.

Karen provides property valuation, letting, property management, and sales advice both to individuals and corporate clients in Ireland and the United Kingdom. She is a member of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuer Institute.

Lizzie Marshall

Editor

Lizzie is a published writer and freelance content writer, editor, and teacher with a PhD in Old English from the University of St Andrews. Lizzie’s first book, Wolves in Beowulf and Other Old English Texts came out in 2022, and her second, a history of wolves in Britain and Ireland, is due soon.

Ralph Dando

Global Development Consultant

Ralph has over 30 years’ experience leading large international projects from the UK to the Caribbean and China, including both major mixed-use schemes and healthcare schemes as well as high-profile ventures such as the Millennium Seedbank Project for Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Ralph also leads his own capital development and project management consultancy, Insight International, which currently focuses on a portfolio of healthcare and wellness resorts, sustainable health and wellbeing ecosystems, and net zero-carbon communities in UK.

About Lagonda Studios