Biography
Stuart Ford, based in Los Angeles, serves as Chairman and CEO of AGC Studios. He is a highly experienced and prolific independent film and television producer, financier, and entrepreneur in today’s entertainment industry. Born in the UK and educated at Oxford University, Ford is a former entertainment attorney and senior executive at Miramax Films. In 2007, he founded IM Global, which he grew over a decade into a leading independent platform for film and television production, financing, and sales, with additional talent management and corporate publicity operations spanning North America, Southeast Asia, India, Latin America, and Europe.
In February 2018, Ford launched AGC Studios, a so-called "super-indie" international film and television production and licensing company. AGC develops, produces, finances, and globally licenses a diverse range of feature films, scripted, unscripted, and factual content, backed by major corporate investors from Silicon Valley, Latin America, and the Middle East. Since its founding, AGC has participated in over 45 major film and television projects.
Ford has collaborated with numerous top directors, including Martin Scorsese, Gary Ross, Mel Gibson, Ron Howard, Doug Liman, Neil Burger, James Wan, Scott Derrickson, Roland Emmerich, Tom Ford, and Richard Linklater. He has produced or executive produced more than seventy films and television series and has secured over $2 billion in independent production financing from regions such as North America, India, China, Latin America, and the Middle East. Ford has also developed AGC Television into a leading independent studio with a slate of prominent scripted shows. Currently streaming, "Those About To Die" had a $165 million budget for its first season, making it one of the largest-scale television productions ever financed by an independent studio.
Recognized as an expert and innovator in film and television financing and distribution, Ford is a strong advocate for international cinema. Alongside his extensive Hollywood work, he has launched successful sales and distribution ventures specializing in Latin American, Chinese-language, and Bollywood content, as well as a Beijing-based corporate PR firm, Go Global, and Latinx talent management company, Valor Entertainment. Ford also has significant experience collaborating with the Arabic-language film and television community, serving as executive producer and worldwide distributor on the $40 million Arabic-language thriller "Al Kameen" by Pierre Morel and the $100 million-plus Arabian epic "Desert Warrior" from Rupert Wyatt.
In 2015, IM Global and Ford received Variety's Achievement in International Film Award. The UK's Guardian newspaper named him one of the 50 Most Influential People in Global Cinema. In May 2023, Ford was honored with Variety’s "Billion Dollar Producer" award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Ford is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Television Academy, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He has been featured in the Variety 500 list of the most influential figures in global entertainment in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
