John de Mol’s Talpa appoints ITV Studios executive Maarten Meijs as CEO

Talpa, John de Mol’s Netherlands-based production and distribution business, has poached Maarten Meijs from ITV Studios to be its new CEO.

Maarten Meijs

Meijs, president of global entertainment at ITV Studios, will report directly to Talpa founder  de Mol upon joining the company in January 2022.

He will be tasked with overseeing the day-to-day running of Talpa’s businesses across creative (Talpa Concepts), production (Talpa Entertainment Productions) and partnerships and international distribution (Talpa Distribution).

The company’s new format business, formed following De Mol’s exit from ITV Studios, already has a slate that includes Marble Mania and Avastars.

ITV Studios has placed chief operating officer Arjan Pomper and chief commercial officer Kim Dingler in charge of Global Entertainment while the process to appoint a permanent successor is already underway.

De Mol said: ”Maarten Meijs is a dynamic leader and he brings a strategic mindset as well as a proven track record in leading businesses and building big brands such as The Voice, which has become the number-one global brand under his helm.

“For me personally, it marks the start of new beginnings, as it allows me to spend more time on what I like most, which is developing and producing innovative new ideas.”

Meijs added: “Talpa has a unique mix of elements to deploy with access to screen in the Netherlands through its linear networks and digital platforms. The aim is to continue to be transformative in content creation, which is key to accelerating global ambitions to better serve audiences across all platforms as well as creating value for brands.

“It is the right climate for shaping creative partnerships with brands, creative talent and media partners to turn great ideas into strong content propositions.”

De Mol set up Talpa in 2017. It comprises four free-to-air television stations, a video streaming platform, four radio stations, an audio streaming platform, a social media network, a print business and an ecommerce platform.

After the sale of Talpa Media to ITV in 2015 and the subsequent earn-out period, De Mol set up a new company consisting of Talpa Entertainment Productions, Talpa Concepts and Talpa Distribution in 2020.