Changes announced to our Executive Board, with a focus on fundraising and industry innovation

The BFI has made some key changes to its Executive Director Board with the appointment of Rishi Coupland to Executive Director of new directorate Industry Development and Innovation and Deputy CEO Harriet Finney taking on an expanded remit, now overseeing Fundraising and Enterprise within a new directorate Corporate Affairs and Partnerships. Both will report into BFI Chief Executive Ben Roberts.  

The changes reinforce the BFI’s role as a national and international leader for screen culture, across research, policy and partnership to support a creative, sustainable and globally ambitious UK screen sector. 

Coupland’s new role and directorate will deepen the BFI’s leadership in research and innovation to help the screen sector grow with confidence, harnessing new technology, from the creative potential of AI to the challenges of sustainability, to support a resilient and forward-looking screen industry. 

Starting on 1 December 2025, he will oversee teams working across skills and workforce development, audience development, research and innovation, certification and video games, evaluation and sustainability. It will help deliver the ambitions of Screen Culture 2033, the BFI’s ten-year strategy to build a thriving, inclusive and innovative screen culture for the whole of the UK. These areas include several National Lottery-funded programmes that underpin the BFI’s work on skills, research and audience development nationwide. 

Deputy CEO Harriet Finney will also take on an expanded remit, now overseeing Fundraising and Enterprise within a new Corporate Affairs and Partnerships directorate. She continues to lead the BFI’s engagement with government, domestic and international screen-sector stakeholders and independent filmmaking communities through the National Lottery Filmmaking Funds and the expanded Global Screen Fund. Her new role also strengthens the BFI’s international philanthropic activities, including the recently launched BFI America. 

Finney’s broader portfolio strengthens the organisation’s relationships across government, industry and philanthropy, and as a charity it will build a more connected network of partners, donors and supporters in the UK and internationally. It reinforces the BFI’s role as a national and global advocate for the UK’s screen culture and creative industries. 

Ben Roberts, Chief Executive of the BFI, said: “Our industry is moving fast, driven by new technologies and global opportunity. The BFI has an important role in understanding that change and helping the sector develop the skills and confidence to seize the opportunities it brings. 

“Rishi’s appointment marks a major step in how we support the UK’s screen sector, connecting research, skills, audiences, innovation and sustainability to build a more resilient and forward-looking industry. He has a deep understanding of how data and evidence can drive cultural progress. 

“Harriet’s expanded role will strengthen the BFI’s relationships across the sector and beyond. She is one of the most respected figures in the screen industries, a trusted voice with the experience and authority to champion the UK’s creative ambition, and the industrial and charitable work of the BFI, at home and internationally.” 

Rishi Coupland, Executive Director of Industry Development and Innovation, said: “The UK is rightly recognised as one of the most creative places in the world, but that creativity never stands still, and neither can the BFI. In this role I want to ensure we help the industry stay ahead of change, building on its strengths and developing the insight, skills and innovation it needs to thrive in the years ahead. 

“We have an outstanding team that consistently punches above its weight, delivering world-class impact as the UK’s lead body for the screen sector, across skills, audiences, certification for tax relief and sustainability. To this we are adding new resource to create a revitalised Innovation function, strengthened by our partnership with the CoSTAR R&D network. 

“I am also delighted that our Research and Statistics Unit will sit within this portfolio, putting data, evidence and foresight at the centre of how we drive industry development.” 

Harriet Finney, Deputy CEO and Executive Director Corporate Affairs and Partnerships, said: “The UK’s screen industries are among the most creative and influential in the world, built on extraordinary talent, innovation and ambition. Partnership sits at the heart of that success. By bringing together our relationships across government, industry, culture and philanthropy, we can create something greater than the sum of its parts: a network of collaboration that drives opportunity and growth. At home and internationally, the BFI is proud to represent a sector that continues to inspire, entertain and lead the world in creative excellence.” 

Coupland joined the BFI in 2021 and is currently BFI Director of Research and Industry Innovation, developing how data and evidence support decision-making across the organisation and the wider screen sector. He recently led the BFI’s major AI in the Screen Sector: Perspectives and Paths Forward report, in partnership with the CoSTAR Foresight Lab, which provides a UK-wide roadmap for the ethical, sustainable and inclusive use of generative AI in the screen industries. Before that, he oversaw the delivery of Screen Business, the industry’s key economic analysis underpinning the UK’s screen-sector tax reliefs, as well as The Economic Value of Cinemas study and the Economic Review of UK Independent Film, which informed the development of the UK Independent Film Tax Credit. He has also overseen significant research on environmental sustainability across the sector. 

Before joining the BFI, Coupland spent a decade at the National Theatre, first as Head of Audience Strategy and later as Head of Data Intelligence, leading work that deepened understanding of audiences and performance. Earlier in his career, he held a senior marketing role at Southbank Centre and led digital change initiatives at Royal Mail. Coupland is also a former Clore Fellow.  

Harriet Finney joined the BFI in 2017 and is currently Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director of Corporate Affairs and Partnerships, leading the organisations work with Government and Industry. She set up the transformative 120 member Screen Sector Task Force across the UK, supporting the industry through the pandemic with the ground-breaking Production Restart Scheme, support for independent cinemas via the Culture Recovery Fund, quarantine exemptions for film and TV workers, new Covid-safe Production Guidelines and the launch the UK Global Screen Fund to support UK films and companies internationally. Most recently Finney played a pivotal role in making the case for more support for independent film in the UK and successfully orchestrated the introduction of a game-changing UK Independent Film Tax Credit.   

Finney previously served as Deputy CEO and Policy Director at the Creative Industries Federation (now Creative UK), following earlier senior roles in public affairs and communications at the Music Publishers Association and Chrysalis Group, having started her career in the City. 

The BFI Executive Board is Chaired by Chief Executive Ben Roberts and includes Harriet Finney, Deputy CEO and Executive Director Corporate Affairs and Partnerships, Arike Oke, Executive Director Knowledge, Learning and Collections, Jason Wood, Executive Director Public Programme and Audiences, Neil Williams, Executive Director Technology and Digital Transformation, David Hamilton, Executive Director Engagement, Marketing, Communications and Rishi Coupland, Executive Director Industry Development and Innovation.