Kim Woodard joins part2 pictures

December 3, 2012 by Barry Walsh

Kim Woodard, former VP of development and production at National Geographic Channel (NGC), has joined Brooklyn-based prodco part2 pictures in the newly created position of executive in charge.

The position will task Woodard with oversight of production and development at the prodco behind OWN’s Our America with Lisa Ling, National Geographic Channel’s Hard Time, and Animal Planet’s Off the Hook, with particular focus on an upcoming, eight-figure tentpole series for an as yet undisclosed network.

Woodard and part2 principals David Shadrack Smith and Greg Henry had known each other for several years, with Smith and Henry forming the prodco roughly around the same time that Woodard was heading up National Geographic Television’s New York production studio and office, which included more than 80 personnel on its staff.

With more commissions being added to its slate, combined with renewals for all of its on-air series, part2 found itself in the envious position of needing to bolster its upper management in order to steer its growth while also maintaining its collaborative culture. Upon presenting Woodard with the opportunity and having worked extensively with NGC, the company principals worked with the network to establish an extended notice period that would allow for a seamless transition. Woodard will also continue to work with NGC on projects in her new role.

“I don’t think there’s another production company out there that I would’ve left NGC for,” Woodard tells realscreen. “NGC is  a very special place with incredibly talented people, but what David and Greg have created is a community of people who bring out each other’s very best work.”

That community has grown to a staff of more than 50, which has made a move to larger office space a necessity. But beyond the logistics of managing a bigger staff, Smith says the move to bring Woodard on board was also conceived to help the company “grow smartly.”

“When part2 started to grow beyond the point where Greg and I originally as filmmakers had ever intended, we realized we needed another brain that could help us grow and take advantage of the opportunities that were starting to come our way,” he explains.

“Part of our culture is about recognizing that we all have something to contribute across projects, and Kim innately works that way and is a great team leader. So we’re harnessing that strength of hers, which is very simpatico with how we built the company.”

Beyond television, part2 is also actively involved in feature documentary production, with its The Redemption of General Butt Naked, produced in association with Mad Monitor, garnering considerable acclaim and an excellence in cinematography award at Sundance in 2011. Smith says more feature doc work is on the way. But for now, Woodard will have her hands full with what Smith calls “the company’s biggest project thus far.”

Smith adds that the company also aims to broaden its range of programming development – “We’re interested in everything, and excited to try everything,” he says – and that Woodard’s experience as a network development VP will come into play in that process.

“Having come from the network side, Kim has the perspective that Greg and I were looking to bring to the company,” he says.

For her part, Woodard is looking forward to “getting my hands dirty” with the production process again.

“I’m used to accommodating a pretty robust pipeline of shows, and I love it,” she says, recalling her time at National Geographic Television. “But I also love creating that new, special project and it’s terrific to have a role here at part2 where I can focus a lot of my bandwidth on this new tentpole project but also feel like I’m contributing to the culture here.”

Tags: David Shadrack Smith, Hard Time, Kim Woodard, Off the Hook: Extreme Catches, Our America With Lisa Ling, Part2 Pictures