London – FremantleMedia has appointed Thom Beers as Chief Executive Officer, FremantleMedia North America (FMNA), effective September 1. Beers, currently CEO and Executive Producer at FremantleMedia-owned Original Productions, will report directly to Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of FremantleMedia.
Based in Los Angeles, Beers will be responsible for the company’s overall management and business performance and will oversee the development, production and business operations of over 600 hours of network, cable and syndicated programming. He will lead a team including Donna Redier Linsk, FMNA’s Chief Operating Officer, and Trish Kinane, President of Entertainment Programming.
Emmy Award-winning Thom Beers has an extensive background as both a television executive and producer, most recently acting as CEO and Executive Producer at Original Productions, a company he founded in 1997.
Under Beers’ leadership, Original Productions has created a string of ratings hits including Deadliest Catch, Black Gold, Ax Men, Monster Garage,1,000 Ways to Die, Storage Wars, Ice Road Truckers and Bering Sea Gold. In February 2009, FremantleMedia acquired a 75 percent stake in Original.
