John de Mol‘s creative, production and distribution business is ramping up its organization and announced the appointment of Maarten Meijs as CEO. Meijs joins the company from ITV Studios where he held the position of President Global Entertainment.

Reporting directly to founder John de Mol, Meijs will join Talpa at the start of 2022 in January, overseeing the day to day running of Talpa’s leading businesses across creative (Talpa Concepts), production (Talpa Entertainment Productions), partnerships and international distribution (Talpa Distribution), developing business strategy and vision as well as identifying growth opportunities in new and existing markets and media. 

Creatively led by John de Mol, creator of The Voice, Big Brother and Deal or no Deal, Talpa’s new format business has gone off to a flying start with fast-growing format brands such as Marble Mania, which has been commissioned and recommissioned in the top tier markets France, Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium. Avastars has already been commissioned in the Middle East after the Netherlands. 

John De Mol says, “Maarten Meijs is a dynamic leader and he brings a strategic mindset as well as a proven track record in leading businesses and building big brands such as The Voice, which has become the number one global brand under his helm. For me personally it marks the start of new beginnings, as it allows me to spend more time on what I like most, which is developing and producing innovative new ideas.”

Meijs says: “My time at ITV Studios has been a wonderful journey, but I am truly excited to help build Talpa to become an important and ambitious content company with creativity and innovation at its core. Talpa has a unique mix of elements to deploy with access to screen in The Netherlands through its linear networks and digital platforms. The aim will continue to be transformative in content creation, which is key to accelerating global ambitions to better serve audiences across all platforms as well as creating value for brands. It is the right climate for shaping creative partnerships with brands, creative talent and media partners to turn great ideas into strong content propositions.”