Mark Skelton wanted to explore the world before deciding on a lifelong career. At 20 years old, he bought a one-way ticket around the globe. This trip turned out to be a 5 year adventure of learning and growing, covering more than 40 countries. At 25, Mark landed the job as Arts & Entertainment executive on London's biggest selling newspaper, The Evening Standard. A new, unfolding world of film premieres and art exhibitions ignited a latent passion for telling stories on film. On turning 30, he decided to set up his own production company and went on to co-produce a two-part documentary, "For the Love of Skype", with Al Gore's Current TV Network. Mark has most recently co-founded the film company, Positive Pictures Group and is currently producing the feature length true story of Peace Pilgrim.
In his formative years Lee embarked on a career in Law where he began studying for the bar when a change of direction manifested itself in the form of the lead role in the West-End production of RENT. He worked
continuously for five years in various productions, notably playing ‘Joseph’ in the award winning production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This preceded numerous television roles, culminating in the acclaimed ‘Cutting It’ which ignited a passionate interest in the process of creation, and rather than facing the camera Lee became driven by the machinations of production behind it. Lee began to shift his focus
appropriately and was offered the chance to work on a selection of short films and commercials which has in turn led to his involvement in a list feature productions, namely ‘Peace Pilgrim’, ‘Le Ciel Dans Une Chambre’, ‘The Wheathouse’ and ‘The Man Who Fell’ – the Robert Capa Biography. As one of the co-founders of PPG, Lee is focussed on using the power of film to provoke thought and influence concept in this modern age. In a bloated
cinematic environment that has spiralled into a one size fits all quest for box-office returns and vacuous content, PPG represents the return of a symbiotic connection with the intimacy of film making from an epoch so long forgotten - the power of story telling.
Shay O'Brien, 43, has the ability to turn concepts into reality by investing the seed capital into new ventures and by working together with the board/team to help develop and enhance the idea. Emerging from a background in sales and marketing, Shay currently has several successful businesses operating worldwide. Starting out as an independent distributor for juiceplus.co.uk, the world’s largest nutritional supplement in a capsule, he worked his way up the ladder until eventually participating in a management buyout in 1996. Shay now owns the distribution rights covering 50% of the European market. One of Shay’s most fruitful ventures was a search engine and internet marketing specialist Global Media. Shay was one of the initial seed investors. The company merged with bigmouthmedia.com in 2007 and is now the biggest independent SEO company in Europe with sales exceeding $100million in 2007. PPG is the most recent addition to Shays portfolio and possibly the most exciting to date. With it, Shay aims to change ideas and educate as many people as possible into thinking about a better world. By producing inspirational stories that will not only make people feel good and upbeat but motivate them to act positively and make a difference in every day life. Peace being our first topic; a great place to start our quest. This is a worthy project indeed.