Warner Bros International Television Production Italia appoints Banijay execs to leadership team

L-R: Max Giammarrusti, Pierangelo Marano and Nicolás de las Peñas

Warner Bros International Television Production (WBITVP) has appointed Banijay Italia execs Pierangelo Marano and Max Giammarrusti to its fledgling Italian label.

Marano has joined as head of entertainment at WBITVP Italia, where he will take creative and strategic lead on unscripted programming at the company, which was launched earlier this year.

He will oversee the development and production of WBITVP and third-party entertainment formats produced by WBITVP Italia, and serve as executive producer across its portfolio.

At Banijay Italia, Marano developed and delivered entertainment and factual formats for both TV and streaming. His previous senior positions at Endemol Italia, Magnolia and Pesci Combattenti include credits such as Big Brother, The Farm, Long Lost Family, Beauty & the Geek and Crónicas Marcianas.

Giammarrusti joins WBITVP Italia as head of production, responsible for all operational aspects of unscripted production, from budgeting and compliance to delivery and staffing. He will work closely with the creative teams to ensure production excellence while supporting the company’s commercial and strategic growth.

Giammarrusti’s recent responsibilities at Banijay Italia include leading production teams for Masterchef, Lo Show dei Record (Guinness Book of World Records) and talk show Che Tempo Che Fa. He also previously served as exec producer at Endemol Shine Group for both scripted and unscripted shows.

Additionally, WBITVP Spain and Portugal’s business director, Nicolás de las Peñas, is expanding his role to also oversee finance and operations for WBITVP Italia. He has worked at the company’s Spain and Portugal arm since 2016.

All three execs report to WBITVP Italia MD Stefano Torrisi, while Ilan Astrug, VP of creative format acquisition at WBITVP’s London headquarters, will continue to support the WBITVP Italia management team.

WBITVP Italia’s first production is the upcoming season of Primo Appuntamento, the Italian version of hit UK format First Dates, for Discovery+.