Banijay UK CEO Lucinda Hicks to step down after 12 years with group
Lucinda Hicks, CEO of Banijay UK, is leaving the European production and distribution giant this summer after 12 years with the group.
Hicks was appointed Banijay’s UK CEO when the firm acquired Endemol Shine in 2020, with a brief to strategically grow the business and oversee the 23 production companies within the UK group.
Hicks worked closely with executive chairman Peter Salmon prior to his departure and replacement by BBC factual veteran Patrick Holland in December. Holland takes up the position of exec chairman and CEO next month. Banijay said there were no immediate plans to replace Hicks’ role at this stage.
The strategy overseen by Hicks included the acquisition of format specialist prodco Znak TV and the appointment of its founder, Natalka Znak, as CEO of its Remarkable Entertainment and Initial labels to create a new unscripted group at the end of last year.
Hicks also hired Kitty Walshe as MD of Banijay-owned RDF Group and BBC Studios exec Jon Swain as MD of Shine in January. In addition, she was behind the exclusive two-year unscripted deal with Jack Whitehall and his production company, Jackpot.
Before becoming Banijay UK CEO, Hicks was chief operating officer of Endemol Shine UK, a role she took up following the merger of the Endemol and Shine groups in 2015.
She had previously been at Shine Group, working across a number of areas of the business including the Metronome Group in Scandinavia and the company’s digital operations, before becoming COO and then joint MD of subsidiary Dragonfly Film and Television.
Hicks has also held a number of strategy and commercial development roles within the UK television industry, including at FremantleMedia, Channel 4 and BBC, having originally begun her career as a management consultant.
Hicks said: “I have had the best 12 years. From working with the team at Shine to running Dragonfly; figuring out how to keep our shows on air during lockdown to managing the integration of the businesses post acquisition with Peter Salmon and the Banijay team, I have worked with the most amazing people and had more fun than I ever thought possible in a job.
“I am looking forward to working with Patrick, a brilliant hire for the business, helping him to get up to speed with all the brilliant people, projects and potential across the group before I bow out and leave the business in his excellent hands.”
Marco Bassetti, Banijay CEO, added: “Lucinda is a clever and talented leader with a commercial and creative mind, making her an integral partner in steering the integration of our businesses in the UK, following the acquisition of Endemol Shine Group.
“We are all thankful for her hard work to date in building a hugely creative portfolio of companies, and a local group that continues to put talent, innovation and its responsibility in the wider industry first. While we are sad to see her leaving, we wish her all the best with whatever comes next.”
