Chairman & CEO, Shaftesbury
A visionary producer with a track record for delivering award-winning scripted content for audiences around the world, Christina Jennings is founder, chairman and CEO of Shaftesbury, a content company known for innovative storytelling and building successful brands. Spanning the production of TV, feature film and digital content, Shaftesbury titles are sold in 120 countries worldwide and include acclaimed international hits Murdoch Mysteries, Carmilla, Regenesis, and Life with Derek.
As world-class brand builders, Shaftesbury is an industry leader in engaging and sustaining audiences by creating brand extensions including original content created for digital and social media platforms, mobile apps, and VR experiences. Taking the company’s expertise in scripted storytelling to the advertising industry, Shaftesbury partnered with leading millennial media agency Youth Culture to launch shift2, an agency dedicated to growing the company’s roster with brand funded content targeted at the coveted 18-34 demo. The company’s KindaTV, home to U by Kotex®-funded drama series Carmilla and other Shaftesbury web series, is the largest scripted YouTube channel for millennials in Canada, reaching nearly 100 million views since its launch in 2014.
Jennings is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre and currently serves as Chair of the Centre’s Board of Directors. Named to Maclean’s Power List of Canada’s 50 Most Powerful People, Jennings’ recent awards and honours include Playback’s Producer of the Decade, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television’s prestigious Academy Achievement Award, the PROFIT Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship at RBC’s Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Awards, and the Innovative Producer Award at the Banff World Television Festival.