Discovery has announced a reorganisation of its European operations, merging a number of territories into a single unit.
“We are working systematically to rationalise our operation and find synergies and efficiencies across our EMEA business. We have come a long way over the years and with this restructuring we have defined a clear path towards a leaner operating model, where we utilise the best competence across markets. By combining knowhow and leveraging our scale, we will be able to streamline decision making and operate with greater speed and focus towards future business opportunities”, says Kasia Kieli, Discovery’s President and MD of EMEA.
Operations in the Nordic market will be brought together with the UK under the leadership of James Gibbons, who becomes general manager UK & Nordics. The Nordic markets will be led as a single unit lead by Nicklas Norrby, who will report directly to Gibbons.
Benelux (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) will now be a single unit under Susanne Aigner, while Spain and France will be unified under the leadership of GM Iberia & France, Antonio Ruiz.
Jamie Cooke will take on a new combined role for Russia, CEEMCA, MEA & Pay-TV, and will continue to cover maternity leave for Victoria Davies. Cooke comes from the role as SVP Chief of Staff EMEA.
Leah Hooper will be taking the role of SVP D2C Growth & Strategy International, and Espen Skoland is named SVP Communications for EMEA.
TVN CEO Piotr Korycki has announced his departure from Discovery. He will not be replaced as Kasia Kieli, President and MD of EMEA, will take a leadership role of the Polish television network herself.
However, despite Korycki choosing to move on, a spokesperson for Discovery confirmed to Broadband TV News that there would be no immediate redundancies. “There are no plans for that at the moment, but our industry is going through enormous change and disruption, and for us to remain competitive we must adapt and change with it. The changes we are making are to ensure the long-term sustainability of our business. The new GMs will review the operational structure in their new markets over the coming months.”
