Banijay Rights confirms leadership team
The distribution arm of European production giant Banijay has confirmed its new leadership team, including another hire from Endemol Shine Group (ESG), as it prepares to welcome Cathy Payne as CEO.
Roisin Thomas
Payne, an ESG veteran, starts work at Banijay Rights today after her appointment was confirmed last week.
Reporting to Payne will be Roisin Thomas, who is remaining with the distributor as chief operating officer, and John Richards, who is following Payne from ESG to be chief financial officer.
Thomas has served as COO at since 2015, having joined Zodiak Media in 2011 before its merger with Banijay Group, where she served as chief of staff to two successive group CEOs.
Cathy Payne
She started her career as a corporate media lawyer and spent more than five years at leading media law firm Olswang.
Richards joins the company from distribution arm Endemol Shine International, where he has been chief financial officer since 2015. Before that, he was finance director at Endemol Worldwide Distribution.
There he was responsible for providing direction and leadership for the finance team and working with CEO Payne to help achieve growth. Having also served for four years as finance director of Tiger Aspect Productions and Darlow Smithson Productions, he led the merger of both companies into Endemol Group in 2009 following their sale by IMG.
Payne said: “As the business sits on the cusp of major growth, it was important to have a strong team in place to manage us efficiently through the changes. In Roisin and John, we have the perfect mix of financial acumen, operational nous and extensive industry knowledge, making us well-prepared for the future. I look forward to getting started with the new team today.”
Payne’s arrival has seen Tim Mutimer segue into a new role as executive VP of EMEA sales and acquisitions.