Tom Farrell will take the CEO reins of The WorkShop, which is set to produce more celebrity-driven content by partnering with three industry leaders, Farrell told TheWrap.
He will join forces with former Octagon Entertainment executive John Ferriter, Viamedia co-founder Todd Donnelly and industry veteran Ray Murray.
The WorkShop is an independent production company that creates content from the development stage all the way to post-production. Farrell will also serve as executive producer.
Farrell, who co-founded The WorkShop in 2007 as President and has since presided over its strategic planning and day-to-day operations now intends to expand and vertically integrate the company by adding new departments dedicated to Branded Content, Multiplatform Production and International Divisions.
Ferriter will be in charge of cultivating new content development and business opportunities. He is the chairman and CEO of The Alternative Co., former founder and managing director of Octagon Entertainment and a former member of William Morris Agency’s Board of Directors. He also served as the agency’s Executive Vice President/Worldwide Head of Non-Scripted Television.
Donnelly, who was the co-founder of independent video advertising company Viamedia, will lead the creation of Branded Content, while the new Multiplatform Content Division will be run by Murray. He was the founder and president of Banyan Productions where he oversaw the development of series like “Trading Spaces” and “Deliver Me.”
“Over the years I’ve known all three, I’ve trusted all three and now have been presented with an opportunity that we can all work together,” Farrell said. “Sometimes, timing is everything in life, and the stars seemed to be aligned where we can all work together now. Each come to The Workshop with a different pedigree, but I think as a whole we’re going to be a pretty powerful team.”
“It’s great to join forces with Tom and The Workshop,” said Ferriter. “Quality producers, quality product and most importantly, quality people.”
Farrell has over 26 years of television production experience and has led The Workshop through a period of growth. The WorkShop has produced videos, commercials and webisodes for organizations such as Golf Channel, Blaze TV, Discovery, Kodak, History and Conde Nast.
Prior to becoming President of The WorkShop, Farrell was COO of Banyan Productions where he oversaw 300-plus employees and the production of 20 network TV series. He has also served as executive producer for cable network programs like “A Makeover Story,” “A Baby Story” and “The Things We Do For Love.
And while Farrell can’t share the company’s upcoming projects, he does have high aspirations for the production firm.
“I see The WorkShop distributing to many different platforms,” he said. “The cable television industry has been very good to us over the years, the broadcast world has been good to us over the years, and now the digital world is opening up doors that we could’ve never imaged 10 years ago. I see us distributing our content not just domestically but now globally, and that’s what gets me the most excited.”