Tessa Ross

Tessa Ross is CEO of House Productions, the film and television production company that she launched in 2016 with her business partner Juliette Howell. Their recent projects include Brexit, a single film by acclaimed playwright James Graham, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Rory Kinnear and Trigonometry, a series written by Duncan Macmillan and Effie Woods, starring Ariane Labed, Thalissa Texeira and Gary Carr.

She was previously Controller of Film and Drama at Channel 4, during which time Film4 worked with the most innovative talent in the UK and built a reputation for developing and financing some of the most acclaimed British films of recent years. These include Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, Kevin Macdonald’s The Last King of Scotland, Chris Morris’ Four Lions, Shane Meadows’ This is England, Steve McQueen’s Hunger, Shame, and 12 Years A Slave, Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges, Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin, Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank and Room, Todd Haynes’ Carol, and Alex Garland’s Ex Machina. Her work in television includes commissioning programmes such as Shameless, Sex Traffic, The Devil’s Whore, Longford, White Teeth, and Clocking Off.

Tessa has been a governor at the NFTS, a governor of the BFI and a member of the ICA Council. She was on the Board of the National Theatre and appointed as its first CEO. She was appointed CBE in the New Year 2010 Honours List and was awarded a BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Film in 2013.