FremantleMedia Operating Board

Tony Cohen is Chief Executive Officer of FremantleMedia, one of the world’s largest international creators, producers and distributors of leading prime time drama, serial drama, entertainment and factual entertainment programming.

Owned by the RTL Group, FremantleMedia has a group turnover of more than €1bn. It is a world leader in content production with more than 300 programmes a year produced across its international network of companies. It is also one of the largest independent programme distributors and has a global ancillary rights business which is responsible for brand licensing, interactive, mobile and home entertainment.

Tony Cohen, who has been CEO of the company since 2001, joined FremantleMedia (then Pearson Television) in 1995 as Managing Director of the Broadcasting Division, responsible for the company’s broadcasting investments. He then ran the company’s US production operation in Los Angeles for a number of years.

Cohen began his career as a newspaper journalist. He joined London Weekend Television in 1979 where he held senior editorial posts, producing programming for the ITV network, Channel 4 and the London region.

Wolf Bauer, CEO, UFA Film and TV Produktion, studied Journalism and History of Art in Munich and Berlin (graduating with M.A. honours). He initially began working from 1976 as a political features writer for the ZDF programme "Kennzeichen D".
 
In 1980, Wolf came to UFA Film-und Fernsehproduktion as an editor and producer and has served as executive producer and CEO for UFA Film & TV Produktion since 1991. Since the founding of FremantleMedia in 2000, he has also sat on the operating board of this globally active production company. FremantleMedia is the international production arm of the RTL Group which also includes UFA. 
Under his leadership, UFA has developed into a highly efficient production group with seven subsidiaries which have continuously expanded their leading market position as a film and television producer in Germany in recent years. As head of UFA, Wolf founded Grundy UFA in 1991 with Reg Grundy, the Australian gameshow and daily drama pioneer. Together with Mike Murphy, the two turned it into Europe's largest producer of daily dramas. In 1998, he joined forces with Prof. Nico Hofmann and Ariane Krampe to set up teamWorx.

Gary Carter is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of FremantleMedia and a member of the FremantleMedia Operating Board. He is also Chief Creative Officer of the company’s experimental cross platform division FMX.

As COO, Carter has responsibility for all the central operational functions at FremantleMedia, with the exception of Finance. These functions include Strategy and Business Development, Human Resources, Corporate Communications, and Legal and Business Affairs. He also heads up Creative Networks, a division combining the Worldwide Drama and Worldwide Entertainment departments of FremantleMedia. The division secures formats in all genres for the FremantleMedia group worldwide through acquisition and development and is also responsible for the roll-out of entertainment and drama formats through FremantleMedia’s worldwide production network.

As Chief Creative Officer for FremantleMedia Cross Platforms (FMX) Carter oversees the creative development of entertainment formats and brands for the increasingly important mobile, broadband, games consoles and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) platforms.

Carter joined FremantleMedia Worldwide Entertainment in January 2005, having been a consultant for the company since August 2003. Prior to setting up his own consulting business, he was Executive Director, Programme Affairs, at Endemol Entertainment International for five years, responsible for the roll-out of its key programme brands. Before joining Endemol, he was International Business Manager for Planet 24 Productions and a literary agent for Roger Hancock for almost 10 years. He trained as an actor at the University of Cape Town.

David Ellender is Chief Executive Officer of FremantleMedia Enterprises, the commercial and brand extension arm of FremantleMedia, spanning 11 international offices worldwide. He is also a member of the FremantleMedia Operating Board.

Ellender oversees FME’s core business functions of international distribution, licensing (covering a broad range of activities including consumer products, brand licensing, live events, sponsorship/integration, online, gaming, gambling) and home entertainment which are operated out of three regional hubs: the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Acquisitions & content/IP development, joint ventures and investments are also overseen by Ellender, as is the Children and Family Entertainment division, launched in October 2009.

FME works with leading producers, broadcasters and third party content/IP partners around the world for optimal brand management across its business divisions spanning all genres. Key brands and franchises include American Idol, Got Talent, Project Runway, The Adventures of Merlin, the Jamie Oliver and Martha Stewart portfolios and Thom Beers’ Original Productions portfolio of programming.

Prior to FME, Ellender was Managing Director, Europe at Universal Studios Television Distribution where he was responsible for developing the overall long-term strategy for the European pay & free TV distribution business, covering Universal’s wide range of feature films and network television series. He also directed the successful transition of the integration process of PolyGram TV International into Universal, to create a new European-wide structure.

As President of PolyGram TV International, Ellender built and managed the company’s global pay & free TV sales team; licensing Polygram and third party feature films & TV series, music specials and in addition, initiated and implemented PolyGram’s Children’s TV Production and Distribution strategy and forged strategic alliances with Pay-TV Services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Other positions he has held include Head of Video & Television Sales for Virgin Vision, Commissioning Editor of British Satellite Broadcasting’s music channel The Power Station, and Director of International Sales, Europe for Viacom International.

Cecile Frot-Coutaz is the Chief Executive Officer, FremantleMedia North America.

Frot-Coutaz was promoted to CEO in July 2005 and manages all business and operational matters for FremantleMedia North America. She is a member of the FremantleMedia Operating Board.

In this capacity she oversees production, legal and business affairs and explores strategic growth opportunities for FremantleMedia North America.

Prior to her promotion to CEO, Frot-Coutaz was Chief Operating Officer for FremantleMedia North America and executive producer on the phenomenally successful talent show, American Idol.

Frot-Coutaz joined the Pearson Group in London having earned an MBA from INSEAD, Paris in 1994. In 1995, when Pearson purchased the assets of Grundy Television, Cecile was promoted to Corporate Strategy Executive.

In 1998, she joined one of two teams that managed the integration of All-American Fremantle assets into the Pearson family as Deputy CEO Southern Europe and Managing Director France.

Frot-Coutaz moved to San Francisco in 2000 to develop online and interactive strategies for Pearson before being appointed Executive Vice President Commercial and Operations for FremantleMedia North America.

Nicky Gray is Director of Human Resources of FremantleMedia. She was appointed Director of Human Resources in 2002 and is responsible for setting HR function strategy and ensuring its effective operation and execution throughout the FremantleMedia Group worldwide.

A key part of Nicky's role is to ensure the company attracts and retains talent by ensuring that it has the correct reward and development processes in place.

Nicky is a member of the FremantleMedia Board.

Prior to joining FremantleMedia, Nicky held senior HR positions for a variety of companies including Express Newspapers, Centrica Plc and Tate & Lyle Plc. During her time as Director of HR at Express Newspapers, Nicky ran the HR service for 1,000 employees and was a group board member.

Lorraine Heggessey became CEO of talkbackTHAMES in May 2005.

Under Lorraine’s leadership, entertainment output alone has more than doubled – talkbackTHAMES was ITV’s largest supplier of new titles in 2006.

Lorraine has also broadened talkbackTHAMES’ business and creative horizons through new talent partnerships and joint ventures including Trevor Eve's Projector, Rob Brydon and Miles Ross's company Arbie and Graham Linehan. These are mutually beneficial deals, allowing talkbackTHAMES to enter into inspiring and productive partnerships with new and established talent while the support of a major indie helps get these new companies off the ground.

Prior to joining the company, Lorraine was the first female Controller of BBC ONE, a position she took up in October 2000. She oversaw the channel’s re-branding and a comprehensive shake-up of its schedule including the move of the news from 9 to 10, with particular emphasis on new drama and revitalising Saturday night. Lorraine was responsible for many successful launches including Dr Who, Strictly Come Dancing, Spooks and Bleak House. She also brought a new impetus in factual programming, putting specialist factual programmes such as Natural History of Britain, Planet Earth and Picture of Britain at the heart of the schedule alongside more popular titles including Big Cat Diary and Rogue Traders. Her background in journalism also led to an emphasis on investigative programming such as Whistleblower, The Secret Policeman and Death on Camera playing in peaktime. 

Lorraine originally joined the BBC in October 1997 as Head of Children’s BBC, where she revitalised the department and portfolio, launching seventeen new shows. Two years later, she was appointed BBC Production’s Director of Programmes and Deputy Chief Executive before taking over as Controller just a year later.

Lorraine has a long track record in making current affairs, documentaries and popular factual programmes for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, as well as in the independent sector.

In 2006 Lorraine was awarded the Media Award at the CBI Real Business First Woman Awards and in 2005, Woman of the Year at the Women in Film and Television Awards.

Lorraine graduated from Durham University with a degree in English Language & Literature and started her career as a graduate trainee on local newspapers for Westminster Press, before joining the BBC in 1979 as a News Trainee.

Lorraine is a Governor of Notting Hill & Ealing High School, a board member of Tamasha – an Asian theatre group, and Chair of the RTS Television Awards.

Ian Ousey is the Finance Director for FremantleMedia. He is responsible for the company’s financial performance and risk management. 

Ian was appointed Finance Director in January 2002, reports to Tony Cohen, CEO FremantleMedia and is a member of the FremantleMedia Operating Board.

Prior to this appointment, Ian spent 2001 at RTL Group in Luxembourg working with the CFO to restructure the headquarters’ finance function.

Previously, Ian was Group Director of Finance at Pearson Television, Chief Accounting Officer and Vice President, Finance and Administration at Grundy Worldwide Ltd and Finance & Administration Manager at Bjorn Borg Design Group.

Ian qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1987 with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in London after graduating from Exeter University in 1984.

Simon is the Regional CEO, Europe with responsibility for all European territories, excluding the UK and Germany, and for Asia Pacific. He was appointed to this position in September 2008.

In September 2005, he took on the position of Director of Operations, Asia Pacific. He was responsible for the company's production businesses in the Asia Pacific region, including Grundy Television and Crackerjack in Australia which he merged to form FremantleMedia Australia, FremantleMedia Productions Asia in Singapore and FremantleMedia Productions Japan.

Simon was appointed chief executive of FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide in December 2002. He took this position from that of Executive Vice President and General Manager, Worldwide Licensing, FremantleMedia Licensing. Spalding joined FremantleMedia in December 1999. He was responsible for exploiting FremantleMedia’s many strong brands off screen and played a crucial role in building FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, a major part of what is now FremantleMedia Enterprises.

Before joining FremantleMedia, he was Head of Consumer Products for DreamWorks, setting up the new division for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australasia. Prior to moving into licensing, Spalding spent 14 years in the toy business, latterly as Senior Vice President Strategic Marketing for Hasbro Europe’s Toy Group.