Amanda Turnbull

Amanda Turnbull is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Rise Studios, an entertainment company driving investment into content throughout the Middle East and North Africa. She is responsible for the development and growth of Rise Studios, where she executes the overall business plan, implements strategic partnerships, and ensures continued business evolution.

With more than three decades of experience in the media industry, including six years as Managing Director at Warner Bros Discovery Middle East, Africa and Turkey and a diploma from the European Television Management Academy, Amanda holds a wealth of expertise in the Middle Eastern media sector. She is deeply committed to nurturing editorial and operational talent, ensuring the region’s potential is further unlocked and connected with leading regional and global platforms to gain the recognition it rightly deserves. During her time at Warner Bros Discovery, she launched businesses in Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey and South Africa, and optimized the newly acquired Fatafeat TV business to profitability within three years, doubling its topline revenue.

Amanda is a Founding Committee Member for the TECOM (Dubai Government) Media Incubator Programme and was the first female leader in the Middle East to be recognized at the International Women in Marketing Awards in 2018. She was also honoured for Innovation in the Professional Category at the 2018 Emirates Women Awards, which she used to build a mentoring network supporting businesswomen and fem-tech start-ups across the UAE. In 2019, Amanda

was honoured as Broadcast Executive of the Year by her peers at the Digital Studio Middle East Awards, truly recognizing her exceptional contribution to the MENA broadcast industry.