Nick Smith and Ian Johnson, the joint Managing Directors of Shinfield Studios, will retire at the end of the year. The duo set up the studio complex, which spans 18 sound stages in Berkshire, southern England.
The double retirement news paves the way for new leadership. After Smith and Johnson’s departure, daily operations at Shinfield Studios will be led by Dean Horne, Vice President of Global Studio Operations, and Charlene St Aubyn, Financial Controller. Both have been part of the team since the early phases of construction.
Shinfield, which is about 40 miles from London, became fully operational earlier this year. It has hosted major movies and premium TV shows including Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the film adaptation of Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree and big-ticket Star Wars series The Acolyte.
Smith and Johnson were instrumental in bringing the new studio into being, leading the negotiations to acquire the one million sq. ft. site and then overseeing the design and construction of the facility. “They have decided this is the right time to hand over to the established Shinfield Studios operations team,” the studio said in the retirement announcement.
Shinfield is part of Shadowbox Studios. “I would like to thank both Nick and Ian for all of their efforts in helping to create a world class film and television studio in Shinfield,” said Peter Rumbold, CEO of Shadowbox. “They’ve paved the way for our best-in-class operations team, led by Dean Horne, and secured an exceptional pipeline of productions into 2025 and beyond.”
