WarnerMedia EMEA Announces Leadership Team For EMEA Affiliate & Ad Sales Function And For The Nordic, CEE, Middle East, Turkey & Africa Regions
WarnerMedia
London, December 2, 2020 - Pierre Branco, recently named to the dual roles of Head of WarnerMedia EMEA Affiliate & Ad Sales and Country Manager for WarnerMedia Nordic, CEE, Middle East, Turkey & Africa, today announced his leadership team, uniting a group of highly experienced executives in Jesper Steenberg, Matthias Heinze, Guillaume Coffin, Rita Akkari, Roni Patel and Johan Mannerhill.
The new leadership team brings together WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks (comprising the legacy Turner and HBO businesses) with Warner Bros. (Theatrical, Consumer Products, TV & Digital distribution, Home Entertainment) to ensure a one WarnerMedia approach in a diverse range of geographies; and delivers an integrated EMEA approach to distribution for both existing and future services.
Jesper Steenberg, who currently oversees the HBO distribution in Europe, will now lead the business development, digital distribution and trade marketing for WarnerMedia's services in EMEA working closely with the local affiliate teams. He will also continue to oversee the Nordic affiliates business.
Matthias Heinze, who is currently responsible for the commercial operations for Turner in Germany and CEE, will now be responsible for the Affiliates and Ad Sales businesses in GAS and Central and Eastern Europe. He also becomes General Manager for WarnerMedia Poland with oversight on the Theatrical and Consumer Products businesses in the country.
Guillaume Coffin, who currently manages Affiliates and Ad Sales for France & Africa at Turner, will expand his remit to encompass Benelux, Greece, the Middle East and Turkey. He will also become General Manager for WarnerMedia in Turkey with oversight of the Theatrical business in the market.
Heinze and Coffin will also work closely with WarnerMedia's France, Benelux & GAS Country Manager Iris Knobloch on those respective parts of their remit to ensure a fully coordinated approach.
Rita Akkari, who manages the distribution of WarnerMedia content to all players in Central, Eastern Europe and Russia, will now lead a newly formed TV & Digital Distribution group which also includes Home Video Digital Distribution for CEE and Russia.
Roni Patel will continue to lead the distribution of Warner Bros., Turner, HBO, and HBO Max content to TV, SVOD and AVOD players for Benelux, the Middle East and Nordic.
Johan Mannerhill will continue to lead WarnerMedia Home Entertainment's business in the Nordics with responsibility for all physical & digital video and games distribution.
Pierre Branco commented: This exceptional group of executives will leverage our combined scale to tap into synergies through a single one WarnerMedia' lens and enrich the consumer offering across the full breadth of our brands, businesses and platforms. They will foster a more holistic approach to our ad sales and distribution strategies at the EMEA regional level, in close coordination with fellow Country Managers across EMEA, and working closely with the HBO Max team as we prepare for its arrival in due course in our markets. Their smart business acumen, commitment to new ways of thinking, and deep connection to our brands will be a huge asset as we move forward.
About the Leadership Team:
Jesper Steenberg joined Turner in 2013 as Distribution Director Nordic and Baltic, moving to HBO Europe in 2016 to head up distribution for digital (OTT) and traditional (linear) across HBO's 21 countries. Previously he was Sales Director at MTG (now NENT Group) overseeing the ad sales business and the creative sales for the group.
Matthias Heinze joined Turner in 2008 as Commercial Director for Germany, Austria, Switzerland overseeing affiliate sales, ad sales and consumer products for the Turner networks there. In March 2013, he became Vice President Commercial Central and Eastern Europe and was appointed General Manager for Eastern Europe in December 2015. Previously, he held ad sales and marketing roles at ProSiebenSat.1.
Guillaume Coffin joined Turner France as Digital Project Manager in 2008 overseeing digital revenues. He became Director of Channel Distribution to Affiliates Partners in 2011 and added Africa and Israel to his remit in 2015. In 2018, he was promoted to Vice President Commercial for Turner in those regions adding advertising activities to his remit. Previously, he worked at Orange in the content division.
Rita Akkari joined Warner Bros. as Management Development Executive for International TV Distribution in July 2007, and through subsequent promotions assumed the role of Vice President CEE and Sub-Saharan Africa in 2018. In January 2019, she added Russia and Poland to her remit as Vice President Central and Eastern Europe. Previously, she was Director of International Sales for TVF International and prior to that a producer for the BBC.
Roni Patel joined Warner Bros. in 2007 as Director Sales, Benelux and Middle East adding Nordics to her portfolio in 2009. Previously she was at The Walt Disney Company for 11 years responsible for content distribution across various territories during her tenure including Nordics, UK, CEE & Israel.
Johan Mannerhill joined Warner Bros. as Nordic Commercial Director in 2012, overseeing sales and marketing, and became Nordic MD 2016. Previously he held roles at Electronic Arts and Bandai, and was chairman of the Swedish Games Industry/Game Developers.
-ENDS-
About WarnerMedia
WarnerMedia is a leading media and entertainment company that creates and distributes premium and popular content from a diverse array of talented storytellers and journalists to global audiences through its consumer brands including: HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC Entertainment, New Lin
Most recent headlines
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
09/05/2025
Wooden Camera, a leading innovator in camera accessories, is proud to announce the launch of a new line of products for the Blackmagic URSA Cine Cameras. These ...
09/05/2025
LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions is expanding its popular Series 5000 platform with three new 12G-SDI cards. The new cards provide ...
09/05/2025
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, has completed a project to migrate ON TV, the major independent broadcaste...
09/05/2025
NUGEN Audio launches its new speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck. A mono, stereo and multichannel dialog clarity meter, the software provides an objecti...
09/05/2025
Disguise the technology platform and solutions provider that powered MDL Beast Soundstorm 2024, Dubai Expo's Al Wasl Dome and visual displays at the Burj ...
09/05/2025
CVP has announced it will demonstrate its cutting-edge broadcast, live production and studio solutions at MPTS 2025. Taking place at Olympia London from 14th - ...
09/05/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, and White Peaks Solutions, the prominent e...
09/05/2025
SportsEngine Play, the first-of-its-kind streaming service for youth sports, has agreed to a multi-year extension with AI-automated sports content leader, Pixel...
09/05/2025
Friend MTS, a leading global provider of content protection services, today announced that TOD, the premier sports and entertainment OTT subscription service fo...
09/05/2025
ZEISS announces that it is in development on a new virtual lens technology that will allow visual effects and compositing artists to apply an authentic lens loo...
09/05/2025
At the 2025 Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), Cerberus Tech will showcase the latest major enhancement to its Livelink IP video delivery platform the...
09/05/2025
Capitol Broadcasting Company welcomed Warren Thomas as the new Vice President an...
09/05/2025
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Studio Technologies said the Harvard University athletics department has integrated Dante-enabled equipment from the vendor into its broadcast ...
09/05/2025
NEW YORK ITN, a provider of a local linear supply side platform, and Magnite, a independent sell-side advertising company, have announced that they working toge...
09/05/2025
LEEDS, U.K. Nugen Audio has launched a new speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck and offered up quotes from technologists working at places like Netflix p...
09/05/2025
AJA I/O Gear: The Heart of Broadcast Solutions' VEGO Mobile Editing Solution
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
When working remotely on broadcas...
09/05/2025
What do they teach in an Advanced Adobe After Effects Course?
Roland Kahlenberg May 8, 2025
0 Comments
There aren't many advanced After Effects co...
09/05/2025
Larry Jordan Sits with Trevor Morgan of OpenDrives at NAB 2025
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
Trevor Morgan, COO of OpenDrives, shares how the co...
09/05/2025
Berklee Popular Music Institute Announces UK Festival Debut and Tour Dates For the first time, BPMI will bring Berklee-affiliated artists and students to the ...
09/05/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
In the season finale of The Late Late Show, ...
09/05/2025
My Eurovision Party 2025 - join in on the fun with RT Kids!
Eurovision launche...
08/05/2025
A sinister fairy infiltrates a desperate family in Kenneth Dagatan's In My Mother's Skin, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Photo co...
08/05/2025
As expected, continued weak demand from key sales markets and declining economic...
08/05/2025
A new three-part series is coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One
(Image: The Christie Archive Trust)
The BBC has announced Agatha Christie's Endless Night, a...
08/05/2025
For skyward-bound operators, training focuses on the unique aspects of flying ISR missions, including the management of onboard surveillance equipment and the e...
08/05/2025
The cable industry has told the Federal Communications Commission it supports the National Association of Broadcasters' proposal to allow broadcasters to us...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Consumer Technology Association has continued its opposition to mandates requiring that NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 tuners be included in new TV sets, sa...
08/05/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real time visualization, has named Paul Maroni as Vice Pres...
08/05/2025
This year's UK Pavilion in hall 5, once again managed by Tradefair, will provide visitors with the unique opportunity to discuss and be involved in cutting ...
08/05/2025
Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its latest energy-efficient transmitters and 5G Broadcast technologies, designed to support network operators and content provider...
08/05/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group has tapped Bill Nardi as vice president of station operations, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day broadcast operations ...
08/05/2025
SEATTLE LumaTouch is partnering with CNN Academy to improve mobile storytelling techniques and support training across all of CNN Academy's training simulat...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Society of Broadcast Engineers has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission that support a proposal by the National Association ...
08/05/2025
Senior adviser to the United States Agency for Global Media Kari Lake has announced that One America News Network (OAN) will provide newsfeed services for fre...
08/05/2025
EdMon Expands as AI-Driven Post Production Workflows Gains Traction in Sweden an...
08/05/2025
Using Luma Mattes in Adobe Premiere Pro
Graham Quince May 7, 2025
0 Comments
This very quick tutorial shows you how to take an RGB clip and apply its ...
08/05/2025
OpenDrives Unveils Free Your Data' Initiative with New Astraeus Cloud-Nativ...
08/05/2025
Student Spotlight: Grigori Balasanyan The Armenian composer, who was named Boston Conservatory at Berklees 2025 student commencement speaker, talks about his ...
08/05/2025
08 May 2025
VEON Shareholders Re-elect Board at 2025 AGM, Founder Augie Fabela ...
08/05/2025
Comedy and entertainment channel U&Dave bring back their #1 ranked programme of ...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Unveils New Premieres Spanning Film and Music
Slick Rick's Victory with Idris Elba a...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Announces Lineup for Inaugural Storytelling Summit
11-Day Industry Event Launches with Tal...
08/05/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Vizrt's Nicholas Jameson on AI in Workflows, Pushing Boundarie...
08/05/2025
Creating Alternative Brand Experiences: Live Sports in the Age of Fortnite, Meta...
08/05/2025
PGA TOUR's David Piccolo: Advanced Graphics and Virtual Production Tools are...
08/05/2025
Tech Focus: Advancing Immersion in Sports Broadcasting with AR and Virtual Produ...
08/05/2025
Expect even more chaos this July with Harriet Webb leading the returning cast, p...
08/05/2025
Back to All News
Now in Production: Comedy Action Film Husbands in Action'...
WarnerMedia EMEA Announces Leadership Team For EMEA Affiliate & Ad Sales Function And For The Nordic, CEE, Middle East, Turkey & Africa Regions 
