Post house founder picks up the Achievement In Media prize
runVT founder Bal Sanghera has won the Achievement In Media at the Asian Acheivers Awards.
Sanghera has been working in the TV industry for over 40 years, and has been a prominent member of the post-production sector since founding runVT in 1995. Beginning in London, runVT has since expanded to Brighton and the North East, working on shows for the likes of the BBC, Netflix, Sky, Prime Video, Channel 5 and more.
In 2024, runVT was named Best Post-Production House at the Broadcast Awards.
Sanghera picked up the Achievement in Media award at a ceremony on 18 September, after being shortlisted alongside BBC and ITV football broadcaster Aaron Paul, pioneering British Asian broadcaster Sarita Sabharwal and former BBC executive and producer Tommy Nagra. Sanghera had been nominated by runVT director of operations and business development Happy Chhokar.
Sanghera said: “I’m incredibly proud and humbled to receive the Achievement in Media award, particularly when I look at the people who were nominated alongside me.
“When I started runVT in 1995, I could never have imagined where the journey would take us. There have been some incredible highs and some very difficult periods along the way, but what has always mattered is continuing to evolve and continuing to move forward.”
He added, “Looking around the room and seeing so many successful British Asian people made me think about the generation that came before us.
“Our parents came to this country, worked incredibly hard and made enormous sacrifices so their children could have opportunities they never had.
“Sadly my Mum and Dad aren’t here to see this, but I know they would have been incredibly proud. The values they gave me — hard work, resilience and never giving up — have stayed with me throughout my life.
“So while my name might be on the award, a large part of it belongs to them.”
Chhokar said: “I nominated Bal because I felt his story deserved to be recognised. What makes his journey particularly significant to me is that Bal didn’t build his career within somebody else’s organisation; he built the organisation.
“He has spent decades creating a business, employing people and building something that has endured through enormous changes in our industry.
“For runVT to win Best Post-Production House at the Broadcast Awards in 2024 was a proud moment because it was recognition from our industry peers. This award feels different. It is recognition from the British Asian community, and that carries its own meaning.
“That was why I nominated him, and seeing him win was incredibly special.”
Pratik Dattani, managing director of EPG and organiser of the Asian Achievers Awards, said: “To be South Asian and build such an impressive name in the media industry through being a job creator and innovator over several decades puts Bal in a category of very few.
“Our judges this year looked for examples of leadership, impact and contribution to the community. Bal’s story in founding and growing runVT is exactly the kind of success story the Awards are created to highlight.”
runVT head of post Paul Wilkes, who attended the ceremony, said: “I was incredibly honoured to be with Bal and to see him get the recognition he deserves.
“The night was a celebration of individual achievement, but it also felt like something bigger. There was a real sense of recognising the generations that paved the way, as well as those coming through now.
“It was a really beautiful night to be part of and I am absolutely chuffed for Bal.”
Sanghera continued, “When I started, there weren’t many people who looked like me running companies in our industry.
“Things have moved forward, but representation is not only about who appears on screen. It is also about who owns businesses, who makes decisions and who creates opportunities.
“If someone from the next generation sees this and thinks, ‘If he could build something, perhaps I can too,’ then that would make me incredibly proud.”
He added, “No one builds a company like this on their own. I’m grateful to the people who have worked at runVT, the clients who have trusted us and everyone who has supported us along the way.
“I still love this industry and I’m proud of what we have built. But we’re not finished. There is plenty more I want runVT to achieve.”
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