James Burstall is Chief Executive Officer and founder of award-winning superindie Argonon, one of the largest truly independent global groups, headquartered in London, New York, Los Angeles, Liverpool and Glasgow. 

James founded Argonon in 2011, bringing together world-class independent production companies creating content that spans all genres for major broadcasters, platforms and brands around the world. Argonon is made up of seven production companies, including Bandicoot (The Masked Singer UK) Leopard Pictures (Worzel Gummidge), Windfall Films (Unearthed), Like a Shot (Abandoned Engineering) and BriteSpark Films (Dispatches: The Prince and the Paedophile). Branded video agency Nemorin, whose extensive client list ranges from McDonald’s to Hugo Boss, Amazon to American Express, joined in December 2020.

James is also CEO and founder of New York-based Leopard USA, makers of over 2,000 episodes of House Hunters International for Discovery. He founded Leopard Films, producing numerous series including the international format Cash in the Attic seen in over 160 territories and Leopardrama, where his executive producer credits included the award-winning feature film An Englishman in New York, starring John Hurt and Cynthia Nixon.

Argonon has won nearly 120 awards for its programming including BAFTAs, RTS and Emmy Awards. It won the National Winner Award at the European Business Awards 2019 for Innovation, Ethics and Business Performance. 

Prior to his television career, James was a journalist for various publications such as Vanity Fair, Vogue & The Evening Standard in New York, Paris & London. He is a voting member of BAFTA and a Fellow of the RSA. He speaks five languages and is learning Mandarin.

Speaking on: International Outlook