Multi-award-winning scripted company Baby Cow has appointed Sarah Monteith as Chief Executive Officer.

Having joined the company from BBC Studios, Monteith takes over as CEO with immediate effect. She will work closely alongside Founder and Creative Director, Steve Coogan to lead the business’s strategic direction, including a specific remit to build on its international reputation for unconventional but accessible stories, through the distinctive Baby Cow blend of comedy and drama.

Sarah Monteith, CEO Baby Cow said: “I feel beyond privileged to work alongside Steve to grow this great British indie. Baby Cow is rare; it’s more than a production company, it’s an international brand, with enviable global fandom. It’s where difference thrives; different voices, different stories, different approaches. To me, Baby Cow embodies the perfect ambition of style and substance.”

Steve Coogan, Creative Director, Baby Cow said: “Sarah and I share the same vision for Baby Cow and our roles complement each other perfectly. There is a real clarity and enthusiasm. We have accumulated a war chest of distinctive, timely material that we have already started to shoot. I am excited that we’re a fresh and focused team, led by Sarah”.

Monteith has hired Strategic Operations Consultant Asha Amster as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Amster will oversee the indie’s Commercial, Production, Digital, Marketing & Business Affairs functions and is tasked with building Baby Cow’s fan engagement, original online content and revenue opportunities across digital platforms, ensuring a rich pipeline of podcasts and operational effectiveness. She joins recently recruited Head of Development Rupert Majendie and Finance Director Jonathan Merrell on Baby Cow’s leadership team.

Baby Cow has several new projects and returning series lined up over the coming months. BAFTA nominated Pls Like with Liam Williams recently aired on BBC Three, is now available on BBC iPlayer and airs on BBC One from 31st March. The company is currently in pre-production with, and about to begin shooting in LA on, Channel 4 drama commission Chivalry, written by and starring Sarah Solemani and Steve Coogan. Also in production is The Witchfinder for BBC Two, written and directed by Rob and Neil Gibbons and starring Daisy May Cooper and Tim Key. The returning series of the BBC One comedy This Time with Alan Partridge will air in the spring. In film, The Fantastic Flitcrofts, starring Mark Rylance, is in post-production.

Monteith has over 20 years’ experience of the media industry, with senior leadership roles within the BBC Group. Including interim Chief Marketing Officer of BBC Studios and Global Director of Brand & Content Marketing. She was also Marketing & Fundraising Director for BBC Children in Need. In 2004, Monteith founded digital brand agency, Brolly, which served a diverse client portfolio of blue chip brands. She is also an alumnus of Sky and Chrysalis Group and sits on the BAFTA judging panel for drama.

Amster, formerly Director of Production at NBCUniversal, has worked across marketing, production and distribution providing strategic consulting to BBC Studios & Studioworks, Fox (Disney) and A+E Networks. She is an executive coach and sits on the HETV Levy Sub Committee at Screenskills.