Twenty yearson the mic.
Six years in the boardroom.
Most industry events are chaired by someone who can present but doesn't know the subject, or someone who knows the subject but can't hold an audience. I spent five years presenting breakfast on BBC 1Xtra and weekend breakfast on BBC 6Music, then five and a half years as Creative Diversity Partner at the BBC, with a senior inclusion role at the BFI before that. I chair panels, host awards and run the sessions where the conversation needs to go somewhere real — not somewhere safe.
Check a date →
Running order
Six formats, with the slot lengths they usually run to. Tap any line for the detail.
01Conference & festival panels45–60 min
Four people with competing agendas, one subject, and a hard out. My job is getting them past the talking points they arrived with, and finishing on time because the session was structured — not because somebody got cut off.
02In conversation & talent interviews60 min
Screening Q&As, retrospectives, career interviews. Live radio teaches you to listen rather than wait for your next question, and to follow the answer that wasn't in the prep.
03Awards & ceremonies2–3 hrs
Hosting with pace and warmth, and without the cringe. Autocue or notes, scripted links or off the cuff, and the recovery when a winner doesn't make it to the stage.
04Town halls & all-staff sessions60–90 min
Including the ones where the organisation has something uncomfortable to work through. An external chair takes the heat off your own leadership and lets people ask the question they actually came to ask.
05Board & leadership away daysHalf / full day
Strategy sessions and the difficult conversations about culture and representation. Facilitated to a decision, with a written record of what was agreed and who owns it.
06Masterclasses & workshops90 min – full day
Development and script, talent pipelines, inclusion strategy that survives contact with a commissioning round. Designed for the room in front of me rather than delivered off the shelf.
Why me
Broadcast-trained
Five years of live radio teaches timing, listening, and how to recover when a guest goes sideways. Most chairs learn this on your audience.
Sector-fluent
I've sat on the commissioning side, the funding side and the festival side. You won't spend the briefing call explaining the industry to me.
Trusted on the hard subjects
Race, representation and organisational culture are where most chairs get careful. It's the work I've done for a decade.
Founder, not just a face
I run S.O.U.L. Fest, the BAFTA and BIFA-qualifying Black British film festival, across London, Birmingham and Newcastle. I know what it costs to put an event on.
Check a date
Available across the UK and internationally, in person and online.
Fees depend on format, preparation and duration, and are quoted individually. Reduced rates for charities, festivals and grassroots organisations.
admin@soulfilm.co.ukPut this in the email
- The date, and how firm it is
- Format and running time
- Venue, or online
- Audience — who, and how many
- Who else is on
- Your budget, even roughly — it saves us both a call
I reply to everything within two working days.