Colleagues at the British Film Institute have paid warm tribute to Liz Muggeridge, the organisation’s director of business partnerships and enterprise, who died in late August following a short illness.
Throughout her tenure, Muggeridge’s team raised £37m by securing new deals and retaining partners for the BFI London Film Festival, year-round programmes and further BFI projects.
“Liz had a rare ability to build enduring connections founded on trust and genuine friendship,” said Francesca Vinti, the BFI’s former executive director of fundraising and enterprise, who worked with Muggeridge for 17 years. “She shaped the BFI’s relationships with sponsors and commercial partners with exceptional skill and integrity, inspiring partnerships that endured for decades and turning contractual agreements into lasting human bonds for the benefit of everyone.
“Sponsors, agents and colleagues alike hugely respected her, not just for her professionalism, but also for her authenticity and strong convictions. And underpinning it all was Liz’s wonderful sense of humour, her quick wit and incisive insight, which accompanied her – and all of us - in even the most challenging days.”
Muggeridge joined the BFI in 2009 as associate director, sponsorship and moved to role of director, business partnerships and enterprise in 2023.
“From the start, Liz was fiercely independent, self-assured and deeply knowledgeable, bringing a strong sense of purpose and conviction to her work and everything she did,” Vinti continued. “Over the years, what began as a working relationship, turned into a friendship shaped by shared challenges and remarkable successes.
“Some of the things I loved most about Liz were her ability to detect substance over ego and her knack for cutting through unnecessary noise to focus on what really mattered. I can truly say that her talent for getting to the heart of a complex negotiation and finding a path to resolution is something I have very rarely encountered elsewhere.
“Underpinning it all was Liz’s wonderful sense of humour, her quick wit and incisive insight, which accompanied her – and all of us - in even the most challenging days.”
Harriet Finney, deputy CEO of the BFI, said the shock of losing Muggeridge has been felt across the BFI and throughout the wider network of industry contacts with whom she worked for many years.
“As we head towards LFF, many of us will be thinking of Liz,” said Finney. “I hope that during those 12 days we can find a quiet moment to raise a glass, celebrate her contribution to the BFI, and remember the impact she had on the lives of so many people she worked with.
“After LFF, we will share more about the ways we plan to remember Liz, including raising funds for Pilgrims Hospice, who cared for her.”
Muggeridge is survived by her husband Nigel and stepson Alex.
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