Leading with passion

Sophie Owen Street, Vice

President

of Strategy & Business, Sky Studios Elstree, talks to Sarah Dale about leading with passion

From touring the Sky Studios Elstree site in its infancy donning a hard hat and safety boots to analysing spreadsheets, Sophie Owen Street “finds the joy” in her work as Vice President of Strategy & Business.

Sky Studios Elstree is a 28-acre film and TV studio in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire with 12 state-of-the-art sound stages, ranging from 10,000 sq ft to 40,000 sq ft, each with the highest standard technology and specs built in, five office blocks, and workshops split across ground and mezzanine floors.

“As a leader, my style is hands-on which means that I like to get involved in lots of things across the team,” says Sophie.

“In the days when the studio was being constructed this meant lots of walking around in a hard hat and safety boots whereas nowadays it’s more likely to involve me analysing a big spreadsheet. Not quite as hardcore but the intention holds true that I like to lead by example and I won’t ever ask my team to do something I wouldn’t be willing to do myself.

“The best leadership advice I have received is to be passionate about what you do. Finding the joy in your work, whether that be in the day-to-day activity of your job or whether it’s in delivering a big project that could be months or years in the making, passion breeds creativity and helps provide the energy to effect real change. Passion is what provided the engine for my team and I to build Sky Studios Elstree and it’s what drives us to make the studio better each year.”

Sky Studios Elstree joined the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce as a Patron in 2021.

“We had started construction of the studios in late 2020 and we were keen to connect with the local business network as soon as possible,” she says.

“We may not have had any offices on site at that time (in fact we were mainly working out of the DoubleTree London Elstree!) but we were committed to being a part of the community from the get-go.

“Film and TV studios, just like hotels and restaurants, are in the hospitality business and we need to attract productions to shoot with us. For Sky Studios Elstree, this means offering the best facilities and services on site that we can, and we need a supportive network around us to do that. That means having a close community of trusted partners that we can rely on to deliver high-quality services to productions. We also need to be part of conversations with like-minded businesses in order to share learnings and insights, especially across our sustainability and talent development programmes. The Chamber helps provide a forum for us to build these important connections across Hertfordshire.”

Sophie credits the Chamber with connecting Sky Studios Elstree to the local business community. Within their first year of joining, they held two Meet the Buyer events, which allowed them to meet complementary businesses at scale.

“It was at one of these events where we met JPA Workspaces, whose sustainability goals aligned closely with our own, and we partnered with them to provide all of the furniture at the studios when we opened throughout 2022/23,” she adds.

“Then, at the sustainability event the following year, we met Cawleys who have now become our waste provider on site, so some of our biggest procurement contracts at the studios have come from connections we made through the Chamber.”

Her advice to new members is simple: Get involved!

“The Chamber runs a number of different events across the year. Whether that be the Chamber lunches, the annual sustainability conference or the sector-focused events like last year’s Creative Summit which was hosted at Sky Studios Elstree. There is something for everyone, so you can choose to attend the events that most resonate with you and your business priorities.

“It’s also a great opportunity for your team to network and grow. We’ve found that sending members of our wider team to the Chamber events, such as the annual Women in Leadership conference, has been a great way to connect, share insights and be inspired.”

Sophie reveals that the goal for Sky Studios Elstree remains the same today as it did when they opened their first stage three years ago.

“We want to be the best studio for productions to film at,” she adds.

“This doesn’t just mean providing best in class facilities, it means excellence in service offering, ambitious sustainability targets and meaningful engagement with our local community, especially across training and development opportunities. To this end, we are working closely with Hertfordshire Futures on a number of exciting initiatives, including existing programmes that we are continuing to expand and enhance, as well as new projects that are being actively scoped and shaped.

“We are so excited for what’s to come. And of course, we can’t wait to welcome more incredible films and TV series that are yet to be made at Sky Studios Elstree.”