BBC Studios bolsters US team by hiring Janet Brown, promoting Tara Maitra

Janet Brown (left) and Tara Maitra

BBC Studios (BBCS) has appointed Gunpowder & Sky exec Janet Brown and promoted Tara Maitra to bolster its team in the US.

The commercial and production arm of the UK pubcaster has named Brown as president of content distribution for North America and Latin America, while Maitra has been upped to chief commercial officer of global distribution, having previously been chief commercial officer of BBCS Americas.

Based in New York, Brown and Maitra will report to Rebecca Glashow, CEO of global distribution.

Brown joins BBCS from indie producer Gunpowder & Sky, where she was exec VP of global distribution and commercial operations. Prior to that, as CEO of FilmBuff, Brown handled worldwide distribution of more than 1,500 titles.

In her new position, Brown is charged with setting strategic direction to drive growth across BBCS’s commercial business in North America and Lat Am. The role covers all aspects of the content distribution business, as well as leading the company’s global distribution relationships with US-based partners, including networks and streaming platforms.

Maitra joined BBCS in January last year. In her new role as chief commercial officer of global distribution, she will have oversight of global syndication and advertising sales, including BBCS’s digital news properties and the World News TV channel outside the UK and Ireland.

Before BBCS, Maitra was chief revenue officer at BDEX, a data exchange platform designed to help companies identify target audiences. She also spent 11 years at TiVo, holding various leadership roles.