BiggerStage Appoints Chief Financial Officer

Irish independent production company BiggerStage has appointed global finance and entertainment executive Leda Connaughton-Deeny as its new Chief Financial Officer.

The newly created role comes as the company, founded in 2021 by former Virgin Media Television CEO Pat Kiely, enters its next phase of expansion following the launch of its Global Production Hub at Troy Studios in Limerick.

The appointment is expected to support BiggerStage's plans to expand its production services and co-production activity as it continues to attract international production companies and broadcasters to Ireland.

Connaughton-Deeny joins BiggerStage following more than two decades with Paramount Global, where she held senior finance and strategy roles across Sydney, London and New York.

Her experience covers broadcasting, content distribution, streaming and consumer products, with responsibility for financial control, business intelligence, profitability and growth across international markets.

Reporting to BiggerStage Founder and CEO Pat Kiely, Connaughton-Deeny will oversee finance, strategy and investment. She will work with the company's senior leadership team as it develops its production services and co-production models and expands commercial partnerships with international studios and networks.

Leda Connaughton-Deeny said: "BiggerStage's growthreflects both the calibre of its team and the scale of its ambition. I am delighted to join at this pivotal moment, and I look forward to applying the financial and strategic experience I've built across international markets to help the company achieve its next stage of growth."

Kiely said the appointment comes at an important stage in BiggerStage's development.

Speaking about this key appointment, Pat Kiely, CEO & Founder of BiggerStage, said: "Leda brings exceptional financial leadership to BiggerStage at a critical moment in our growth. Her international experience with global media businesses will be instrumental as we scale the business, evolve our proposition and pursue the significant investment opportunities ahead."

The appointment follows the official opening of BiggerStage's Global Production Hub at Troy Studios in Limerick in June.

The hub represents a multimillion-euro, multi-year commitment involving Hackman Capital Partners' Troy Studios and The MBS Group.

Troy Studios is Ireland's largest studio facility, with four sound stages covering a combined 100,000 sq ft across a 26-acre site.

The site is also home to Format Factory, BiggerStage's new incubator focused on developing and piloting original unscripted format intellectual property.

The Limerick hub has already attracted a series of major international television productions.

Productions filmed there this year include 99 To Beat, presented by Ken Jeong and Erin Andrews, The Floor with Rob Lowe and Name That Tune with Jane Krakowski and Robin Thicke for the FOX Network in the US.

The facility has also hosted the UK edition of Name That Tune with Alison Hammond, produced in partnership with ITV Studios for ITV1.

The production slate highlights the growing role BiggerStage is seeking to establish for Ireland in large-scale international television production.

Since its launch, BiggerStage has worked to promote Ireland as a base for international television production, bringing global entertainment brands to the country and securing inward investment.

The company's production partnerships have included FOX Entertainment, MGM, Studio Ramsay Global and Talpa Studios, with ITV Studios among its more recent partners.

BiggerStage's expanding production pipeline is supporting employment across creative, technical and production roles, while the company is also working on training and development initiatives with organisations including Screen Ireland and the University of Limerick.

The appointment comes as Ireland's screen sector benefits from the introduction of a dedicated tax credit for unscripted production under Section 487A.

Introduced earlier this year, the measure is the first tax credit in Europe dedicated exclusively to unscripted programming.

It provides a 20% corporation tax credit on qualifying expenditure of up to €15 million per project.

Eligible productions include reality, quiz, contest and game shows, with the incentive forming part of Ireland's efforts to attract further international television production.

For BiggerStage, the new incentive comes alongside the development of its Limerick production hub and growing international production pipeline as the company looks to expand its role in Ireland's television industry.