News Corp. Names Andrea Zappia CEO of Sky Italia

NEW YORK - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. on Monday said it has appointed Andrea Zappia to the role of CEO of Italian pay TV service Sky Italia.

He is currently managing director, customer group at U.K. pay TV giant BSkyB. He replaces Tom Mockridge who left Sky Italia last month to become CEO of News Corp.'s U.K. newspaper group News International whose former title News of the World got the conglomerate embroiled in a phone hacking scandal.

Zappia joined BSkyB in Feb. 2010 to lead sales, marketing and customer operations. Before that, he already spent seven years at Sky Italia, including as vp, sports channels and vp, marketing, promotion and business development.

He previously also held various senior marketing roles at Ferrari, Fila and Procter & Gamble.

“I am delighted that Andrea is to return to Sky Italia, given he played such a key role in the team that has laid the foundations for its success," said James Murdoch, deputy CEO and chairman and CEO, international at News Corp. "Andrea is a world-class executive with a breadth of experience across a range of roles, covering operations, sports, marketing, broadband and branding, and a range of sectors. I look forward very much to working with him as we take Sky Italia into its next phase of development.”

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai