Meet the Team
Distrify started as some crazy ideas and a series of experiments that Peter and Andy cooked up while sitting through another dull "new distribution" panel in Cannes. Using some of our own films as guinea pigs, we spent a couple years dragging them through the mud of online film. After some successes and failures, lots of conversations, a few arguments and a couple of fund-raising pitches, our friends at Creative Scotland gave us a few quid to get started in the Autumn of 2010.
Within a few months, we had a working version of Distrify and an amazing team behind it. Distrify has been built from scratch by a dedicated team that blends decades of film industry experience with decades of experience with web applications, ecommerce and social media.
Peter Gerard
the visionary
Peter is a multi-award-winning film producer and director and a pioneer in film distribution strategy. He also has 15 years' experience developing award-winning online software applications, including The D-Word online documentary community and websites for Oscar-nominated production companies. He regularly attends key markets and festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Amsterdam, Sheffield, etc., where he is invited to host or participate in panels. His films have won many awards (including a BAFTA New Talent Award), and he has distributed them via countless channels.
As Distrify's CEO, Peter oversees product development, customer support, user experience, global payments and a whole range of other things.
Andy Green
the powerhouse
Andy has more than 10 years experience as a film producer and editor, including a strong background in the advertising industry. He worked on several Cannes Media Lion winning campaigns for the world's top commercials agencies. Andy was selected for "Features Scotland" - the Scottish Government sponsored expo of up-and-coming film producers. He has worked across film finance, production, distribution and marketing, and draws on this experience to ensure clients of all sizes get what they need from Distrify.
As the COO of Distrify, Andy oversees marketing, sales and client relationships. If you don't understand all this new stuff about online distribution, spend a half-hour with Andy and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll be inspired to take on the world.
David Nicholas Wilkinson
the sage
David Nicholas Wilkinson, founder of the Guerilla companies, is unique in the UK entertainment industry. Since entering the industry in 1970 his hands-on experience and depth of knowledge in a range of different show business sectors is almost certainly unequalled by anyone else working in Britain today. This gives him an enviable overview across the media world. He has a proven track record in film/TV and theatre production winning many awards; cinema/DVD/VOD/airline/TV/online distribution; book publishing as well as event management. He was also an award winning actor and has starred in film/TV/theatre productions. He has produced and/or distributed almost 150 feature films. David has also acted as a consultant on over 300 feature film projects for institutional financiers, individual investors and numerous film and television production companies seeking funding. He has chaired numerous film industry panels and events, has been a jury member of film festivals around the world and frequently appears in the press, radio & TV covering many aspects of the entertainment business.
David is Chairman at Distrify and offers a wealth of experience, knowledge and contacts. David says:
“As a distributor I had become increasingly frustrated and angry at the terms offered by online companies. LoveFilm (owned by the mighty Amazon) made me a truly appalling offer for my library that was an insult to every one of my filmmakers. Even iTunes who offered excellent terms were problematic to work with, expensive to upload our films, offered no control over the promotion nor transparent accounting. I'm naturally sceptical of VOD, but 12 minutes into my first meeting with Distrify I not only agreed to give them all my films but I wanted to join them. So impressed am I with their business model that I am devoting most of my time to helping the company grow.”
Stephen Green
the professional
Stephen joined Distrify after four years as assistant Operations Director at one of Scotland’s largest commercial law firms. He has extensive experience of business administration, accounts, billing and finance, project management and multi-jurisdictional media and intellectual property law. Prior to acquiring his first-class honours law degree, Stephen was a university lecturer specialising in East European Cinema and Russian Language. Stephen has also assisted Andy and Peter in the finance, contracting and production of a number of films over the past 15 years.
As International Business Manager and Chief Legal Officer at Distrify, Stephen takes care of international business, finance and contracting. He's a stickler for detail and keeps the rest of us in check!
Emanuela Lorenzone
the communicator
Emanuela joined Distrify after several years in TV and film production, working as researcher, production assistant, translator and fixer. Her TV and film work have taken her around the world to Italy, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, France and Africa. She spent her childhood in Italy, her teenage years in Argentina and her twenties between Turin, Cardiff, Bristol, London and Glasgow. Naturally, Emanuela speaks Italian, Spanish, French and English and has a degree in Languages & Tourism followed by a Masters in Moving Image.
Emanuela loves bikes, animals, tea, music, people, adventures, hot yoga, her family, and all the amazing people selling films with Distrify. As an Account Manager at Distrify, Emanuela's overarching aim is to develop and maintain excellent relationships with distributors and filmmakers and to ensure they get the most out of Distrify.
Kobi Shely
the social marketing whizz
Kobi is an online film marketing expert, specializing in social media. He previously served as marketing and publishers connections manager at Hyperclip, a video advertising start-up he co founded. Kobi's main passion has always been film, and he's also an award winning filmmaker, his indie doc MacHEADS - on Apple crazy fanatics - broke sales records, rocking the leading VOD streaming sites, including iTunes and Hulu, and was aired on CNBC. Since 2007 Kobi has written on the state and evolution of filmmaking from his blog DocMovies. Tribeca Film Institute chose his twitter as "15 Twitter Feeds Every Filmmaker Should Follow!"
Wesley Luyten
the experience genius
Known throughout the web-video community for his superb open-source web-video tools, Wesley is one of the most talented coders and designers in the world of online video and beyond. Wesley heads up the development and design of our cutting-edge multi-platform video players. Wesley's pixel-pushing skills are only matched by his BMX-handling skills. He flies through the air on two wheels and makes sure Distrify's amazing user experience flies high above the competition.
Douglas Shearer
the architect
A few months back, Douglas broke his "space-bar thumb" on a mountain bike race. Not missing a beat, he slowly trained himself to press the space-bar with the other thumb. When Douglas isn't out on his mountain bike winning races and getting covered in Scottish mud, he's building the robust platform that keeps Distrify running day-to-day. Douglas has built social networks, online video platforms and all kinds of other web applications. He regularly contributes to the open source community and is a demon on both the bike and the keyboard. If you're ever wondering how Distrify manages to handle millions of simultaneous customers, you can ask Douglas, but I can't promise you'll understand the answer. He keeps Distrify going every day, with or without his right thumb.
Oliver Gerard
the customer service king
Oliver manages our customer service team, making sure that any issues are handled promptly and that we continue to enhance Distrify to avoid any future problems. His excellent problem solving skills and attention to detail are the guiding force behind our lightning-fast personalised customer service experience.
Oliver is also a talented photographer and lover of the outdoors.
Where are we?
the headquarters
We're spread around the world, and often on the move. So if you want to meet, we can make an appointment at the next major festival or market, or we may be able to visit you. Or if you want to trek up to Scotland, you can often find us in our office at GMAC in Glasgow's Trongate. Make an appointment before visiting.
Distrify Limited
5th Floor
103 Trongate
Glasgow
G1 5HD
Scotland
UK
Who’s backing us?
the investors
Distrify received launch-funding from Creative Scotland via two successful pitches: Interactive Scotland's Digital Inspirations pitch and the Cultural Enterprise Office's Starter for 6 Fast Track programme. We then pitched to the Technology Strategy Board to receive further funding.
Since 2012 we are receiving the support of the MEDIA Programme of the European Union. Creative Scotland and Scottish Enterprise continue to support Distrify's development through further funding and services. We would like to thank these organisations for their generosity and support.
