As an award-winning director, my work has been recognized with major international honours including the Cannes Lions’ Young Director Award, the Kinsale Sharks Award for Best International New Director and a number of music video and theatre awards. I’ve directed global campaigns for leading brands including Microsoft, LEGO, eBay, NOKIA, Dyson and Fosters. My work has been exhibited at institutions like London’s Design Museum. With a background in theatre, my directorial approach focuses on combining authentic performance with ambitious technical execution. I’m honoured to bring this perspective to the Telly Awards Judging Council.

How many years have you been a judge?

This is my first year!

What excited you about judging for the Telly Awards?

I was excited by the opportunity to engage with the breadth of creative work being produced today and to help new artists who are pushing the boundaries of the craft. The Tellys have a legacy of recognising real talent in different media. For me, serving as a judge is a chance to give back to the creative community and to play a part in championing the storytelling innovations that define the future of our industry.

What was your first job in the industry? What did it teach you?

I was Associate Director on several West End shows, watching some incredible theatre directors at work – including Sir Peter Hall, Michael Grandage and Peter Gill. It taught me an unbelievable amount about the craft of directing. Specifically, how to communicate complex ideas to actors and creatives with clarity and precision. And it gave me the confidence to develop my own approach.

What project are you most proud to have worked on?

I’m incredibly proud of directing a global TVC for the FIFA World Cup, which ranks as one of the most-watched commercials of all time. It was a massive logistical and creative undertaking – shooting performance-led vignettes across multiple continents and weaving them into a single, cohesive narrative. To see that craft result in such global reach felt really special.

What’s the most challenging part about your job and/or the industry?

Without question, the greatest challenge is cutting through the noise. We’re living in an era of total saturation of content. There’s a constant deluge of media across every platform. The technical barriers to creating professional-looking video have fallen, which is wonderful in many ways, but it also means that audience attention is more fragmented than ever. The key is to create work that is so clear, resonant, and crafted that it rewards attention.

What do you look for to determine excellence in video?

Clarity: is there a single idea or emotional truth at its heart? Then, does the execution – in cinematography, performance, editing, sound design – come together to express this central theme? Finally, is the film ambitious in scope? Is it doing something new and fresh that challenges or resonates?

What are your current roles and responsibilities and what do you love most about your job?

I’m currently in post for a Samsung job featuring a film actor who discovers the creative possibilities of their phone. Specifically, that means working with the editor to get the pacing of the cut right so it gets signed off by all the key stakeholders. I really enjoy the edit process – it’s an opportunity to recast what you captured on set.

What initiatives or projects are you working on now that excite you?

Once I’ve finished this Samsung job I’m directing a new script reading at a London theatre. It’s not my script but we’ve got some really excellent actors. Developing new work – whether in theatre or film – is really exciting.

Do you have any specific practices you lean on to spark creativity?

For me, creativity is sparked by getting immersed in a subject. I’ll absorb everything I can about a project — the research, the script, reference material – and then try to step away. For me, creative breakthroughs tend to happen when I allow my subconscious to process the raw material. I also try to keep a constant diet of creative inputs outside my immediate field: reading fiction, going to the theatre, visiting art shows, watching comedy. This cross-pollination is essential; it gives you a fresh lens.

What inspired you to pursue your career path?

The Royal Court Theatre in London has a new writing programme for young writers. I sent in a play that I’d written which got accepted and was eventually staged. As a teenager it was completely inspiring and made me keep writing. I found that I got a real buzz out of directing – starting with my own writing but increasingly with other writers. As I’ve moved into film and commercials, I’ve found that background – which prioritises story and character – to be absolutely fundamental.

In your experience, what is a significant change you are seeing happen in the video, television, and/or film industry, and what insight can you share about how to navigate it?

The most significant change is the incredible democratisation of production tools – from high-end cameras to AI-powered VFX. The technical barrier to entry is lower now than ever. The insight for navigating this is that the value has shifted from how something is made to why it is made. Making visually polished content is more achievable so the premium is in the strength of the core idea, the clarity of the point of view, and the authenticity of the storytelling. The challenge for creators is less ‘Can we make this look good?’ and more ‘Do we have something meaningful to say?’