Liesl Copland

As the first ever EVP of Content and Platform Strategy at 18-year veteran studio Participant, Liesl - a 25-year media and entertainment expert - focuses on the company’s overall slate strategy across Feature Film, Scripted Television and Documentary. In the rapidly changing distribution landscape, she devises and executes global sales and distribution strategies for all of the company’s creative projects with an eye to gaining buy in from big media on the social change and impact focused mission of Participant. As a member of the company’s Greenlight Committee and as manager of the Global sales team, Liesl has a direct impact on monetization and ROI while also working closely with the creative leads in each content area on building profitable premium creative projects with the world’s most thought-leading creators. She leverages her unique relationships with big media, producers, financiers and artists to identify new business opportunities and works closely with the C-suite and Strategy on all investments. Before joining Participant as the EVP of Content & Platform Strategy, Liesl was a Partner and EVP at Endeavor Content where she ran the Non-Fiction investing and advisory practice, overseeing feature documentaries and premium non-fiction series and providing strategic advice to the studio’s suite of production partners. Copland has worked in the specialty film sector for most of her career with the goal of democratizing distribution for unique, independently produced projects. During her twelve years with Endeavor – which originated within Endeavor and grew with the company through mergers with William Morris and IMG, expanding into television, international sales and more – Liesl enjoyed a range of leadership positions, from overseeing the narrative film sales practice, launching the financier advisory practice and being a founding member of the digital media group, always with an eye to the emerging distribution space amid the ever-changing media landscape. She became well known for advising entrepreneurs and producers raising funds and launching their own companies. Prior to joining Endeavor in 2008, Liesl acted as the Head of Red Envelope Entertainment, the former original content division of Netflix, where she oversaw the acquisition, marketing and distribution of close to 100 films a year during their three years in existence. She developed a reputation for successfully forging innovative partnerships with studios and mini-majors, boutique distribution labels and more non-traditional, new media-focused outlets. Prior to Red Envelope, Liesl worked at New York-based film financing and sales consultancy firm Cinetic Media, where she concentrated primarily on film and documentary sales and the launch of their US ancillary business. Her previous entertainment industry experience includes years as an independent producer as well as posts at the Tribeca Film Festival and IFP. Before entering the film world, Copland worked in merchandising and design for Gap, Inc. and as an editor for Hearst Magazines. Across her entire career, Liesl has built in a double bottom line approach to her practice and has a deeper focus on social justice reform and impact focused content. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with degrees in both English Literature and Art History.

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