Passion picks up Fremantle exec

Tinopolis-owned UK sales house Passion Distribution has appointed a senior executive from FremantleMedia as head of acquisitions.

Sean Wheatley

Reporting to Passion CEO Emmanuelle Namiech, Sean Wheatley will oversee the company’s content acquisition activity, working closely with both indies and Tinopolis group companies.

Wheatley will be responsible for identifying and acquiring programming and has a remit to expand Passion’s network of producer partnerships. He replaces former acquisitions chief Jimmy Humphrey, who joined TCB Media Rights in February.

Wheatley was most recently senior acquisitions manager at Fremantle. During his tenure, he expanded sales arm FremantleMedia International (FMI)’s factual slate, striking deals with UK indies and BBC Studios.

Prior to joining FMI, Wheatley was acquisitions manager at Sky Vision, where he managed the specialist factual slate, and at Parthenon Entertainment where he acquired new factual and factual entertainment titles.