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FRAPA revamps board, Geneste exits

FRAPA has replaced Patty Geneste as chair with Phil Gurin and Jan Salling becoming co-chairs, with a remit to develop a raft of new initiatives at the rights protection association.

Patty Geneste

Out: Patty Geneste

C21 understands Geneste, who also ran distributor Absolutely Independent and has occupied the FRAPA chair position for two years, left following a number of disagreements at board level.

Under Geneste’s tenure, FRAPA relocated its headquarters from Cologne to Naarden in the Netherlands, where it will remain based under the new US-Nordic co-chairmanship.

Phil Gurin

In: Phil Gurin

Current board members Gurin, president and CEO of US format producer and distributor The Gurin Company, and Salling, chief operating officer and managing director of sales and acquisitions for TV2 Norway-owned distributor Nordic World, will now share the responsibility.

FRAPA intends to “intensify efforts to build a global community for, and serve as the mouthpiece of, the billion-dollar formats industry, providing its members with a suite of format-protection, advocacy and mediation services, as well as a central point for networking, information, training and advice,” it said in a statement.

Gurin added: “Looking to the future, Jan and I are set to launch several initiatives designed to strengthen FRAPA’s structure, effectiveness and impact. To this end, we will shortly be announcing the appointment of several high-profile board members, who will help us to transition FRAPA into a dynamic new era.”

Jan Salling

In: Jan Salling

Salling told C21: “FRAPA is a unique organisation, with an impressive list of achievements behind it. Our aim is to take it to the next level, making it more relevant, more useful and more responsive to the rapidly evolving needs of our members. Phil and I intend to make a real difference to FRAPA, not just organisationally, but in terms of positive results for the entire format industry.”

The new co-chairs will also ramp up FRAPA’s involvement in establishing industry best practices by instituting codes of conduct to assist format creators, producers, writers, broadcasters and distributors to operate in a fair, safe, well-regulated environment.

FRAPA is a partner in the market-leading International Format Awards, together with EMC and C21. The collective is set to hold its annual awards gala on Saturday April 11 during MipFormats.

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