London – UK based distributor Banijay International has appointed Emmanuelle Namiech as its new Managing Director, it was announced by Banijay Group CEO Marco Bassetti. 

As Managing Director, Namiech will build on Banijay International’s position as a force in the global formats market and deliver strength and experience in finished programming acquisitions and sales, in line with the distributor’s strategic goal to grow its library of English-language content.

Recent acquisitions of note include those with Pop TV (formerly TVGN), covering brand new titles like The Sorrentinos (9×30’) and Rock This Boat (9×30’) and shows such as Horse Town (6×60’), from ThumbsUp Productions for U.S. channel Ride TV, and I Am Innocent, from producer Screentime New Zealand for TVNZ.

With overall responsibility for the sales and acquisitions teams in Banijay International’s London and Los Angeles offices, Namiech will take over from previous Managing Director Karoline Spodsberg who was promoted to her new role as Banijay Group’s COO Nordics.

Namiech’s career in international television sales and acquisitions spans nearly 20 years. Previous roles include SVP Content Acquisitions & Development at FremantleMedia and Director of Acquisitions and Co-Productions at ITV Studios Global Entertainment.

Marco Bassetti said, “We are extremely pleased to welcome Emmanuelle as our new Managing Director and to give our clients a seamless handover as Karoline takes up her new position within the Group. Emmanuelle’s vast experience and strong industry knowledge will be invaluable to us as we take our business to the next stage of growth.”

Emmanuelle Namiech added, “Banijay International is a young, growing company which has come a long way in a very short period of five years. There is still huge untapped potential and I am very excited to lead the team and to further build on the solid foundations of this incredibly dynamic, independent company.”