Australian entertainment leader Francis Coady has announced the creation of Grand Pacific Entertainment Pty Ltd, a new Sydney-based group that will develop and fund scripted drama, documentaries, comedy, branded content, music, and podcasts.

With strategic representation by William Morris Endeavor (WME), the company’s focus is on both local and global media works, with a vision to ‘forge powerful creative partnerships’.

Coady, the former Chief Marketing and Content Officer at Havas Media Australia (Vivendi) – and founder of the Bondi Short Film Festival – brings over two decades of industry experience in film, TV, digital streaming, and music as he leads Grand Pacific Entertainment Pty Ltd.

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Coady’s tenure at Merchantwise Group saw him forging partnerships with major film studios such as Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Paramount. In the music industry, Coady managed rock group Thirsty Merc and the global TV children’s group Hi-5, achieving significant milestones including double-platinum albums and multi-episode and film deals with Nickelodeon TV, Hoyts and Network 10 (Paramount).

Coady also launched and oversaw Havas Sports & Entertainment group (Vivendi), where he created and executive produced the award-winning webseries The Long Road starring Guy Sebastian and Amy Shark.

In a statement, a representative said that the company aims to ‘continue to shine a light on Australia’s rich talent pool, working collaboratively with some of the industry’s best writers, producers, actors, and creatives’.

‘I’ve been a passionate writer and executive producer and was delighted when WME decided to represent my company’s development slate,’ said Coady. ‘My aim is to help develop premium content that reaches as wider audiences as possible.’