Richard Johnston, the CEO of Endemol Shine U.K., who oversaw the merger of Endemol and Shine in 2015, is to step down as new owner Banijay on Tuesday set up the new leadership team of its U.K. arm.
Johnston, who was named CEO in 2015 and helped drive growth within the scripted business, SVOD revenue and regional production, is leaving his role, while Peter Salmon, the former director of BBC Studios who has served as Endemol Shine Group’s chief creative officer since 2016, will now lead Banijay U.K. as executive chairman.
Salmon will oversee the company’s portfolio of 25 unscripted and scripted production labels in the U.K., joined by former Endemol Shine chief operating officer Lucinda Hicks, who becomes CEO of the U.K. arm.
“The U.K. is now one of our biggest markets, with a plethora of multi-genre labels and an incredible catalogue that has travelled the globe,” said Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti. “With this scale we needed robust leadership, which spanned both the creative narrative of the group, as well as the operational one.”
He added: “Already heavily engaged in the country’s business and tapped into much of its network, Peter and Lucinda were in a prime position to take the group through the next stage of its journey. Brimming with IP and some of the best minds in the business, I’ve no doubt Banijay U.K., with them at the helm, will continue to be at the epicenter of devising original and innovative brands, which get the world talking. I’ll finish by thanking Richard for his incredible dedication, commendable service and significant hard work in putting the UK group and its labels in such great health.”
