Paris – Reed MIDEM announced four recipients of the 2015 MIPTV Médaille d’Honneur Award: Ben Silverman, Chairman and CEO of Electus; Cécile Frot-Coutaz , Chief Executive Officer of FremantleMedia; Ricardo Scalamandré, Head Of International Business, Globo Comunicacao e Participacoes S.A.; and Irfan Sahin, Chief Executive Officer, DoÄŸan TV Holding.
The prestigious Médaille d’Honneur is awarded to senior international executives who have, through their talent, leadership, and passion, made a significant contribution to the world of television and to the development of the international TV community. The MIPTV 2015 Médaille d’Honneur awards will be presented by Reed MIDEM CEO Paul Zilk at a gala dinner on 15 April at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes.
The honourees to receive the accolade are:
Ben Silverman , Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning show creator, Founder and Chairman and CEO of Electus, a next-generation studio. Pioneering content for the entertainment industry, Silverman has executive produced recent major hits including Jane the Virgin at The CW, NBC’s transformative TV commerce showFashion Star, Marco Polo for Netflix, and Running Wild with Bear Grylls on NBC. Additionally, Silverman is currently in production on several new series including Casanova directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet for Amazon,Fameless with executive producer David Spade for TruTV, and the feature film Hands of Stone starring Robert De Niro, Usher and Edgar Ramirez. Prior to launching Electus, Silverman served as Co-Chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios from June 2007 to 2009. As Founder and former CEO of Reveille, Silverman executive produced the Emmy Award-winning NBC comedy The Office and the Golden Globe-winning comedy Ugly Betty, and was co-creator and executive producer of the critically acclaimed The Tudors for Showtime.
Cécile Frot-Coutaz , Chief Executive Officer of FremantleMedia. As the leader of one of the world’s largest international creators, producers and distributors of primetime entertainment, drama, and factual entertainment television programming, Frot-Coutaz oversees a group with a turnover of over €1billion and produces more than 10,000 hours of programming a year across its companies in 28 countries. The company also specialises in the extension of television entertainment brands through international distribution, licensing, sponsorship, gaming and branded entertainment. Born and raised in France, Frot-Coutaz was previously CEO of FremantleMedia North America, during which time she also served as Executive Producer on some of the most innovative and successful event entertainment on U.S. television, including American Idol and America’s Got Talent. She began her career at the Pearson Group London in 1994, where she rose to become Corporate Strategy Executive and oversaw the successful acquisition and integration of a number of companies into the business which helped transform FremantleMedia into the industry leader it is today.
Ricardo Scalamandré , Head of International Business at Globo started his career in Globo’s sales department at the age of 19, where he has worked in various capacities at the Brazilian broadcast group. After a spell with another Brazilian network and a time in marketing, he founded a company with racing driver Emerson Fittipaldi to produce Formula Indy in Brazil. In 1997, he returned to Globo, where he participated in the creation of Globo International, whose operations now comprise six pay-TV channels and a production and distribution division for sports and entertainment reaching over 190 countries worldwide. Globo recently started to also license feature films from Globo Filmes. Scalamandré is responsible for Globo’s international business strategy, development and operations, which include content distribution, international channels, co-productions and new business opportunities evaluation.
Irfan Sahin , Chief Executive Officer, DoÄŸan TV Holding. After a five-year spell as general manager of Cine5, Turkey’s first pay-TV channel, Sahin went into production in 2004. His first series, Noor – Gumus, opened the Turkish drama industry to the world, selling to 78 countries. In 2006, he was named Editor-in-Chief of Kanal D, which has since become the most successful Turkish commercial TV channel. In 2010, he was appointed CEO of DoÄŸan TV Holding, which owns Kanal D, as well as other free-to-air channels including CNN Türk and TV2, digital platforms, and production companies. He has overseen Turkish adaptations of US formats like Revenge, Desperate Housewives, and Monk, and developed successful Turkish formats. A total of 10 million people follow DoÄŸan TV on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
“It is a great honour to recognise these four exceptional industry figures, who have each, in their own way, made major contributions to the international entertainment content sector, and whose vision and leadership have set the standards in their respective fields,” said Laurine Garaude, Director of Reed MIDEM’s Television Division.
