Cheung upped at VCNI in Asia

The post-merger shake-up continues at ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) as the company appoints Pierre Cheung as senior VP and general manager for Asia.

Pierre Cheung

Cheung has been handed the expanded role with a brief to better align the company’s operations in Asia and target new commercial opportunities.

Cheung reports to Raffaele Annecchino, president of ViacomCBS Networks Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. He was previously senior VP and general manager for Greater China, having joined from BBC Worldwide in 2015.

His appointment comes after a major restructure at VCNI last month. This split the company into two brand groups and three pan-regional management hubs, all of which report to David Lynn, president and CEO of VCNI.

Kerry Taylor, previously exec VP of MTV International and chief marketing officer for VCNI UK, was promoted to exec VP of VCNI entertainment and youth brands. Jules Borkent, meanwhile, was appointed exec VP at VCNI Kids & Family, reporting to Lynn and Brian Robbins, president of Kids & Family Entertainment, ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks.

Maria Kyriacou, who most recently was president of international for ITV Studios, joined the newly expanded VCNI this month as president of ViacomCBS Networks UK and Australia, which includes responsibility for Ireland, New Zealand and Israel.

Paul Anderson, CEO of Network 10 in Australia, additionally became exec VP of ViacomCBS Networks Australia and New Zealand, reporting to Kyriacou.

At the same time, Annecchino was given his currently role, as president of ViacomCBS Networks Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, while JC Acosta was promoted to president of ViacomCBS Networks Americas late last year.

Regarding his new role, Cheung said: “Capitalising on the unique characteristics of our diverse region and leveraging synergies across the company will enable us to further drive our growth in challenging yet dynamic markets.”

The restructure of ViacomCBS Networks comes after the re-merger of Viacom and CBS Corp, which was announced in August 2019 and completed in December.