Sponsored by Barclays ‘Barclays


understood the problem


instantly. They asked me the right questions and helped me find the answers


I needed.’ Michele Buck,


Mammoth Screen


Michele Buck (left) and Lorraine Ruckstuhl at Mammoth Screen’s offices in London


S


etting up business on your own is daunting for anyone, but it can be especially so for women, who often find


themselves juggling family life with tough business decisions. Without experts to provide guidance and advice, it can be intimidating. Michele Buck is one woman who took the


bull by the horns and, in 2007, founded Mammoth Screen, a multi-award-winning independent television production company, along with her business partner, Damien Timmer. Today, Mammoth is ranked 67th in the UK’s top 100 fastest-growing privately held companies. Barclays has banked the company from the


Sponsored by


start and facilitated a number of transactions on its behalf. Michele chose Barclays based on “the reputation and experience of its media team” and said “it was purely coincidence the Barclays team were women themselves”, although she now credits this with contribut- ing to the success of their working relation- ship. She comments: “When I first met the team, I was instantly impressed with their understanding of our sector. Five years on,


10 | The Power List | March 2012


Sue [Pettican] and Lorraine [Ruckstuhl] and I are constantly communicating with each other and we regularly meet at industry events – I’m not sure it would be the same if we weren’t all women.” Being able to efficiently resolve finance issues


is critical for Michele, whose team regularly works on complex productions. Lorraine comments: “However complicated the deal, we work with our clients to find a solution.” But it’s her team’s relationships that make the difference. For example, while working on a large-scale co-production with the BBC and HBO, Michele ran into some funding issues but was able to “just pick up the phone” to Barclays. Their knowledge of the sector meant she “did not have to explain the problem, they understood it instantly. They asked me the right questions and helped me find the answers I needed.”


Barclays Contact Lorraine Ruckstuhl Email lorraine.ruckstuhl@barclays.com Telephone +44 (0)7917 503442


www.screendaily.com | www.broadcastnow.co.uk


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