Shorts International

Carter founded Shorts International in 2000. Coming from a background in both investment banking and law, Carter has made Shorts International the world's leading short movie Entertainment Company, functioning as distributor, broadcaster and producer. Carter has extensive experience in short movie production and short movie entertainment. He is a voting member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and a member of the Short Film and Feature Animation Branch of The US Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) – the guys who pick the Oscars. Carter, originally from Terre Haute, Indiana, received a B.S. from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a J.D. from Georgetown University, is a member of the New York Bar and attended the London Business School Corporate Finance Evening Program.

John is Executive Vice President, Finance at AMC Networks and oversees Financial Planning & Analysis as well as all financial functions of the AMCN International business units – including the AMC and Sundance Global brands. AMC Networks is the award-winning cable television programmer behind the enormously successful Walking Dead franchise as well as iconic shows such as Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul. AMC International’s portfolio consists of 60+ channels broadcast in over 140 countries around the globe. John joined AMC Networks from Leftfield Entertainment, the leading independent producer of unscripted television programs in North America, where he held the role of CFO and assisted the company in its sale to ITV. Prior to Leftfield, John was SVP, Finance at HIT Entertainment, the leading independent children’s content provider best known for pre-school properties such as Thomas & Friends, Barney, and Bob the Builder. John helped lead the sale of HIT to Mattel in 2012. John has an MBA from the University of Notre Dame and a BS from Fitchburg State University.

John is Executive Chairman of Morgan Joseph TriArtisan and has over 40 years of industry experience. Prior to co-founding Morgan Joseph, he was President of New Street Advisors LP. He previously held various positions at Drexel Burnham Lambert, including Co-head of Investment Banking and Chief Executive Officer, and started his career as an investment banker at Shearson Hammill. John received his MBA from Harvard and both BA and ME degrees from Rice University. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Vail Resorts Inc. and Shorts International Ltd.

Born in Wyoming, USA, a former lawyer and economist, now an entrepreneur and investor with over 30 years experience in the fields of cable, telephony, broadband, satellite and wireless technologies. Co-founder of UIH, better known as Liberty Global Inc. today. Mark specialises in managing business development, acquisitions, finance and investments. As Founder of Schneider Media & Holdings Group LLC, Mark invests with other associate entrepreneurs in new business, principally in media, communications distribution, content and technology.

Russ is an experienced commercial executive with a technology background of over 20 years in telecoms, broadcast TV, and media distribution. His experience includes start-ups, driving growth and scale in a corporate environment, managing large teams, and leading acquisitions across Europe. He has been a Non-Exec Director of Freeview, YouView and Digital UK, and been a Management Board member of a FTSE100 telco. After some time as an independent consultant providing strategic help with investment fundraising, early stage business planning, go-to-market strategies, and product marketing, he joined Shorts International as COO where he has overseen the launch of new services on Amazon Prime Video Channels across Europe, India, and the USA, and new FAST channels in both Europe and the US.

Michael has more than 25 years of experience in digital TV, security, and software development. Having worked for companies like NAGRA, ANT Software, Motorola, Viaccess, and Steria, Michael joined Shorts International in 2017 to take responsibility of the development, deployment and operations of a fully cloud-hosted, end-to-end streaming video platform. Having launched multiple new linear TV services and OTT streaming services, Michael has now executive responsibility for managing all of the internal and external technology within the company.

Thamina joined the Shorts International management team in 2022 as Finance Director. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience spanning over twenty-five years of working in both the corporate and SME sectors. She qualified with Accenture working with them for ten years on global transformation and outsourcing projects before moving into practice with RSM Tenon. More recently she has worked in the Recruitment, Property, and Cultural sectors with SME owner-managed businesses guiding them through business change including corporate restructuring.

Ian is an accomplished professional from the Spanish media and entertainment industry where he has spent most of his professional life. Trained as a Lawyer, Ian completed an MBA with a Specialization in Finance that allowed him to move his career from an M&A Law Firm to leading WarnerMedia’s PayTV Channels and non-linear services distribution business in Spain and Portugal, taking care of iconic brands like Cartoon Network, CNN or TCM. After a short stay at a cyber-security start up where he covered the commercial relationship with US Major Studios and global streaming platforms, Ian joined one of the most prominent Spanish production companies, Mediapro, where he developed the international expansion of Mediapro’s OTT platform and PayTV channel dedicated entirely to esports and Gen Z audience entertainment, getting deep into the development of commercial relationships across the Spanish-speaking Americas.

Tarun has extensive experience across the full media bandwidth – internet, television, print, and live. Having worked in international media conglomerates, the likes of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Zee TV Europe, Bennett & Coleman across Europe & Asia, he has extensive experience of digital & pay television landscape across Europe & Asia. Based out of London, he oversees the Asia business.

Simon has been an integral member of the short film community since 2000 when he joined the Barcelona-based distributor Morphe Art Pictures. In 2002 he moved back to the UK to join Shorts International and has since built up an impressively diverse catalogue of high-quality short films that are distributed to broadcasters and new media outlets worldwide including iTunes and Shorts International's own TV Network ShortsTV. A veteran of the short film festival circuit, Simon is also a regular jury and panel member at film events. He has also been working as one of the Short Film Advisors at the BFI London Film Festival for more than a decade.

Linda Campos Olszewski affectionately known in the entertainment industry as “Linda O” is one of the most passionate and knowledgeable people in the short film industry. After trying to get a shorts division launched at several studios, she joined SHORTS INTERNATIONAL in January 2006 to oversee the launch and acquisitions of the Oscar Shorts Theatrical/VOD/iTunes releases as an Associate Producer. She has served on over 100 international film fest juries and panels throughout North and South America and Europe, offering distribution deals for iTunes, Amazon, and TV license for ShortsTV™ - The Short Movie Channel. Linda has contributed to “Swimming Upstream: A Lifesaving Guide to Short Film Distribution,” “The Guerilla Filmmakers Pocketbook,” and “Making it Big in Shorts: The Ultimate Filmmaker's Guide to Short Films.” She holds an MA in film, and runs festival strategy and distribution workshops in the US, Mexico and South America. She was recently one of 6 short film executives from around the world chosen to participate in Guadalajara Film Festival’s “Shorts UP,” has participated in Guanajuato Intl Film Festival’s “Think Tank,” and FICIL BIO BIO Global Industry Initiative across central Chile. Recent favorite juries include Louisiana Film Prize, Monterrey FF, Hollyshorts and SXSW. She remains steadfast in championing diversity on ShortsTV with programming efforts to promote women directors through “Films by HER”, Latino filmmakers in “Latino Films” spotlights, and Indigenous filmmakers in the upcoming Global First Nation spotlight. Before joining Shorts, she acquired short films for The Hatchery and EVEO, developed shorts for Hanna-Barbera’s WHAT A CARTOON for Cartoon Network, programmed shorts for the DreamWorks Short FF, Palm Springs Short FF, Newport Beach FF and Sofia Independent FF, and pre-screened shorts and features for Fear Fete and Sundance FF. Additional credits include SHREK, THE ROAD TO EL DORADO, PRINCE OF EGYPT, REALITY BITES, and THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE. She began her career as a documentary cameraman and photojournalist in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion and with the Totonacs in Huehuetla, Mexico. She remains an avid photographer, making pictures of the short film world, and is a new member of AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) for their Short Film and Feature Animation branch’s class of 2016.

Florentina Almonte is responsible for licensing content for the ShortsTV channels in the US, LATAM, and EMEA territories. Florentina's background includes substantial experience in many aspects of the media/television business, including programming strategy, content acquisitions, program scheduling, affiliates sales/marketing, business development, international partnerships, and operations. Before joining Shorts International, Florentina was Programming Director at HITN TV, a U.S.-Hispanic cable network. She served in various managing capacities at the company and developed the network's programming strategy. In addition to programming and related areas, Florentina was involved in negotiating affiliates' distribution agreements with major MVPDs and OTT platforms. Florentina also worked at A+E International Networks, where she served as a managing liaison between A+E's global Ad Sales teams and the US team. Additionally, she worked with the Affiliates/Distribution team developing and implementing marketing initiatives for History en Español US. Florentina has served as a juror at the NY Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS)/Emmys Awards and as a jury and panel member at many film festivals. She is a member of the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and the National Association of Television Programming Executives (NATPE). CableFAX named her as one of "The Most Influential Latinas in Cable" for 2016.

Jade is an experienced film and TV professional with a passion for great storytelling and a track record in driving viewing and customer engagement in both a linear and VOD space. She spent a large portion of her career leading editorial strategy for Sky’s subscription film channels and VOD services, including eight years working as Head of Content for Sky Cinema. She was involved in several channel launches including Sky Cinema Disney, product launches, and initiatives including Sky’s original films strategy. As Director of Programming, Jade is now responsible for the ShortsTV editorial and acquisitions strategy across the subscription channels in South Asia, Latin America, North America, and EMEA, the FAST channels in Europe, the ShortsTV+ app and the ShortsTV offerings via Amazon Prime Video Channels. Alongside her passion for content, Jade has been a champion for diversity having set up one of Sky’s leading employee networks to help the career progression of underrepresented groups, worked alongside women’s networks to highlight female content makers and launched mentoring schemes.

Stephanie has over ten years of experience line producing for film and TV, working with companies such as Sky, Telefilm Canada, Warp X amongst others as well as with a wide range of independent filmmakers. She has worked on productions in the US, Europe, India, China and Africa. Stephanie has also produced award winning short films as well as films commissioned by international brands such as Unilever, Coca Cola, British Airways, Top Man and Burger King. Prior to joining ShortsTV, she was head of production for an international non-profit organisation in London raising awareness through filmmaking, working with celebrities such as Jude Law, Akon, Annie Lennox and Forest Whitaker. As Head of Production at ShortsTV, Stephanie is responsible for running the entire production department, channelling the team’s creative juices to ensure the best TV experience for viewers. Born in Burgundy, France, Stephanie studied both in France and the UK and has an MA from the University of London. In her spare time, she volunteers for LAFF (Latin American Foundation for the Future) and Border Crossings.