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Kudos replaces outgoing CEO Santer

Humans and Broadchurch producer Kudos has promoted two of its execs to become joint MDs after the company’s CEO revealed he would be stepping down.

Diederick Santer

Diederick Santer, who formed Lovely Day Productions with Kudos in 2010, has headed up the UK-based Tin Star prodco since 2015, working on shows including Grantchester, Man in an Orange Shirt, Humans and Apple Tree Yard over recent years.

Santer took sole control in 2016 after Dan Isaacs, with whom he had shared the position, left the Endemol Shine Group (ESG)-owned company to reunite with Jane Featherstone at her production shingle Sister Pictures.

ESG has now named Kudos chief creative officer Karen Wilson and chief operating officer Martin Haines as joint MDs, taking over the leadership, creative and strategic direction and day-to-day running of the company.

Wilson has been at Kudos since 2001 and has worked on shows including Spooks for BBC1 and The Tunnel for Sky Atlantic, while Haines was a lawyer before joining Warner Brothers Television UK in 2014 as a commercial director.

He joined Kudos in 2016 as chief operating officer, responsible for the strategic direction of the company and overseeing all operational functions.

Richard Johnston, CEO at Endemol Shine UK, said he was “incredibly sorry” to see Santer leave, adding: “His passion and instinct for the scripted genre, and ability to inspire those around him, have helped to deliver a raft of outstanding work and ensured that Kudos is a go-to production company for quality scripted in the UK.

“However, I’m delighted that Karen and Martin will be taking on the leadership role. The combination of their creative skills and commercial acumen make them a brilliant team who will grow the company and build the next generation of Kudos hits.”

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