Black Doves producer Sister has made a splash in London with the hire of ex-Banijay UK boss Lucinda Hicks.
Hicks becomes Sister Group CEO, overseeing strategy for both the production outfit and Sister partners including Pamela: A Love Story producer Dorothy Street Pictures, Richard Bacon’s Yes Yes Media and Stephen Curry’s Unanimous.
Hicks is effectively replacing ex-Global CEO Cindy Holland, who exited last year at which point Sister closed its L.A. office. Hicks will, however, be based in London while Holland was in the U.S. Sister co-founders Jane Featherstone and Elisabeth Murdoch have stressed in recent months that the group will continue to pitch into the U.S. but HQ is now very much in the UK.
Hicks became CEO of Banijay UK when the company acquired her former employer Endemol Shine Group. She left two years later and has been consulting, including with Channel 4 where she advised on the network’s new in-house production unit. At Banijay, she would have overseen the likes of Peaky Blinders, MasterChef and Big Brother. She is more of a name in unscripted, having previously run Surgeons: At the Edge of Life producer Dragonfly.
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Hicks’ hire comes as Chris Fry, who had been interim CEO, has been promoted to the newly created role of Group COO in addition to his duties as CFO.
Sister struck gold recently with Netflix hit Black Doves, which is onto its second season, but, while landing plenty of commissions, has struggled since its formation to turn a profit. Other projects include Netflix’s Eric and the same streamer’s now-axed Kaos, ITV’s upcoming Cold Water starring Andrew Lincoln, BBC One’s The Split and a Dennis Kelly-penned prison drama, which is in development with the BBC. Last week, it landed its first Apple show, a romcom about child prodigies starring Will Sharpe and Ayo Edebiri.
“One of the most talented execs of her generation”
Murdoch labeled Hicks, a former Shine colleague, “one of the most talented creative executives of her generation” who “takes the reins at a truly exciting point in Sister’s evolution.”
“She has a proven track record in nurturing creative talent, founding start-ups, and driving major M&A activity and an ingrained international perspective – a skillset and experience perfectly suited to lead us in our next chapter,” added Murdoch. “I couldn’t be happier that she will be doing so, and with the close support at Group of Chris Fry, who has steered us so adeptly in recent months as interim and whose impact in supporting our partners since the start has been immeasurable.”
Hicks said: “Sister is synonymous with excellence and unique in the creative diversity of the incredible companies that sit within the fold. I’ve seen recently first-hand how that reputation is rightly earned and how the ambition to continually raise the bar is unrelenting and so characteristic of Liz and Jane.”