James Baker is to take over as president and COO of Red Arrow Studios, the global production network which includes UK indies CPL, Nerd and Endor.
Baker succeeds Jan David Frouman, chairman & CEO of Red Arrow Studios, who is leaving when his current management contract concludes at the end of February 2019 after 15 years with Red Arrow parent company ProSiebenSat.1.
Baker, who is currently COO of Red Arrow Studios, will report directly to Max Conze, CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE.
In his new role, Baker will manage the 20 production companies that are part of Red Arrow Studios’ global network, take responsibility for Red Arrow’s expansion initiatives and work closely with Wolfgang Link, chief content & channel officer, and Henrik Pabst, chief commercial officer at ProSiebenSat.1’s Entertainment segment.
Bo Stehmeier, president of Red Arrow Studios International as of January 2019, will report to Baker and oversee TV distributor Red Arrow Studios International and US independent film distributor Gravitas Ventures.
Reza Izad, CEO of Studio71, will continue to lead the global multi-platform company and report directly to Conze.
Baker and Izad will cooperate closely to increase collaboration between Studio71 and Red Arrow’s production companies, and develop and scale the global digital video business.
“Red Arrow Studios is an important part of ProSiebenSat.1, and I would like to thank Jan for successfully building and leading the group from the start. I’m also very pleased that we’ve been able to promote James Baker to lead the company going forward. He knows Red Arrow inside and out, and together we will expand our production footprint, further strengthen the operational performance of the Red Arrow companies and particularly develop a broader German content production ecosystem,” said Conze.
Baker joined Red Arrow in 2011. Before joining the company, he spent 11 years at Sky. After leaving Sky in 2007, he worked with media private equity group Fleming Media before joining Current TV, Al Gore’s web and TV network, as UK General Manager.
Staff Reporter
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