Evolution ups Baskin, grows team

Non-fiction prodco Evolution Media, owned by US studio MGM, has promoted executive producer Alex Baskin to president and hired a Studio 71 exec to create and develop new projects.

Rabih Gholam

Rabih Gholam, who has already taken up his new position as executive VP of development at Evolution, formed Studio 71’s unscripted division.

While president of unscripted content at Studio 71, Gholam developed content for talent on platforms including Facebook, The CW, Food Network, iTunes, Snapchat, A&E, MTV and YouTube Red.

Prior to this, Gholam was executive VP of Ryan Seacrest Productions, where he helped build a development slate including ABC Family’s Becoming Us, Cooking Channel’s Sugar & Sparks and Best.Cover.Ever for YouTube.

Gholam began his career at NBC, where he was on the NBC Page Program working on late-night shows, before going to work for The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn at CBS and Talkshow with Spike Feresten at Fox. He also worked as an executive producer at MTV on shows such as The Hills.

Alex Baskin

In his new role at Propagate, Gholam will report directly to Baskin.

As president, Baskin will work alongside Douglas Ross, who is also president, to lead the company. Baskin joined Evolution Media in 2006 and has executive produced more than 30 series.

“As Evolution Media continues to grow and produce outstanding content, it is essential to have leaders in place that have the experience and mind for strategy that will propel the company to even greater heights,” said Barry Poznick, MGM’s president of unscripted television.

“With Alex and his partner, Douglas Ross, continuing to steer the ship and with the recent hire of Rabih, an experienced, smart and focused executive, there is nowhere for this team to go but up.”