CEO of the British Film Institute (BFI) between 2003 and 2020, Amanda joined SPI in 2020 in an advisory role supporting the firm on its global consultancy assignments and in securing new business opportunities.

This specifically includes projects on workforce, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), vocational and talent development, and overall strategies for screen sector expansion.

While leading the BFI, Amanda transformed the organisation into its current position as the UK’s primary organisation for film, television and the moving image, and took on a new, expanded remit as the National Lottery distributor for film. She also led the development and delivery of a comprehensive strategy for UK film for the period 2012-2017 entitled ‘Film Forever’.

Under Amanda’s leadership, the organisation transformed its cultural offering by reimagining BFI Southbank, opening up its world-famous archive, and launching the BFI Film Academy to find and nurture future talent. She also introduced the BFI Player, the first such platform for a cultural charity and now a hugely successful commercial streaming platform dedicated to the best of world cinema.

During this time, the BFI also determinedly pursued change in diversity, equity and inclusion across the industry by introducing the BFI’s Diversity Standards, which are now widely adopted including at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and Film4. This groundbreaking initiative has shaped the new diversity requirement for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

Under Amanda’s tenure, the BFI also pursued international partnerships to drive export and inward investment, such as the focus on cultural and industry collaboration with China, leading to the signing of the first UK-China co-production treaty in April 2014.

Amanda’s national and international contributions to the screen industry have been consistently recognised. In 2015 she received the CBE, a British national honour for services to the film industry; in 2016, the Barclays Businesswomen in Film and Television Award; in 2018, the Veuve Clicquot Social Purpose Award; and in 2019, the British Independent Film Awards Special Jury Prize. She was awarded with the prestigious BFI Fellowship in 2020.