Los Angeles – Shine Group has appointed Rich Ross to the role of CEO, Shine America, succeeding Carl Fennessy, who will return to Australia in mid-2013, where he remains Joint CEO, Shine Australia.

Ross, the former Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios and President of Disney Channels Worldwide, takes over the role from Fennessy, following the latter’s pre-agreed two-year term in Los Angeles. Fennessy has undertaken a hand over with Ross who joins in January.

Ross joins Shine America whose slate sees successful formats MasterChef (Fox) and The Biggest Loser (NBC) now joined by upcoming series The Face (Oxygen), the company’s first scripted pilot, The Bridge (FX) and first Spanish-language production Minuto Para Ganar (MundoFOX). Recent months have also seen the launch of New York-based format label Ardaban and the expansion of the company’s digital, unscripted and ancillary divisions.

Fennessy said: “It has been a hugely enjoyable and rewarding time at Shine America, and I would like to thank my incredible team here and the wider television community in the U.S. for making me feel so welcome. Rich is highly accomplished and I believe his arrival is the final piece of the jigsaw that we’ve aimed to put together here. I look forward to returning home later next year, safe in the knowledge that Shine America is in great hands for the future.”