S&P Global Market Intelligence presents a weekly rundown of executive and board changes in the European technology, media and communications industries.
TOP MOVES
* Sky Austria Managing Director Christine Scheil is leaving the pay TV broadcaster Dec. 31 "for personal reasons," Broadband TV News reported, citing a statement. Neal O'Rourke, chief finance and strategy officer at Sky Ireland, will replace Scheil, effective January 2020. Scheil will remain with Sky Austria as a consultant during the transition. Sky Austria and Sky Ireland are units of Comcast Corp.'s Sky Ltd.
* Finnish media group Sanoma Oyj named Rob Kolkman CEO of its unit Sanoma Learning BV, effective Jan. 1, 2020. Kolkman will assume the post while remaining as CEO of Sanoma Media Netherlands BV until the completion of the latter's sale to Belgian publisher DPG Media NV.
MEDIA INDUSTRY MOVES
* Vivendi SA unit Dailymotion SA appointed Adam Irlando senior vice president of global demand, according to a Dec. 11 statement.
* Vivendi subsidiary StudioCanal SA named Anna Marsh as its managing director, replacing Didier Lupfer, who is leaving the company, according to a Dec. 10 news release.
* Jan Nooitgedagt stepped down as supervisory board chairman at Mediahuis Nederland, a unit of Belgian publisher Mediahuis NV, Villamedia reported Dec. 10.
* Berlin-based video streaming aggregator JustWatch GmbH is opening an office in New York, Variety reported Dec. 9. The office will be headed by David Larkin, who is joining JustWatch as its new senior vice president of marketing and strategy. Larkin is the founder and CEO of media search engine GoWatchIt.
* Philipp Steffens is stepping down as head of fiction at broadcaster Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland GmbH, DWDL reported Dec. 9.
* ZDF Enterprises GmbH said Dec. 9 that it appointed Lasse Scharpen CEO of its scripted division Network Movie Film- und Fernsehproduktion GmbH.
* Mustafa Suleyman is leaving Deepmind Technologies Ltd. to take a new role at the artificial intelligence company's parent, Google LLC, Deepmind CEO and co-founder Demis Hassabis said in a blog post. In a tweet, Suleyman said he will focus on work related to applied AI technologies. Alphabet Inc. owns Google.
* Anime-focused streaming service Crunchyroll completed the acquisition of a majority stake in VIZ Media Europe SARL, a France-based anime distributor. In line with the deal, the companies named John Easum head of Crunchyroll's Europe, Middle East and Africa business. Kazuyoshi Takeuchi will also step down as president of VIZ Media Europe and will become adviser to the company. Crunchyroll is owned by AT&T Inc.'s Otter Media Holdings LLC.
* ViacomCBS Inc.-owned streaming service Pluto TV appointed Guillaume Rosier director of business development and partnerships for Europe, TBI Vision reported. Rosier most recently was an executive at Dailymotion.
* Frank Volmer will replace RTL Nederland Chief Commercial Officer Ton Rozestraten as chairman of Screenforce, the marketing organization of the Dutch TV channels, Villamedia reported Dec. 6. Volmer is managing director at STER, the agency responsible for the broadcast of radio and television ads on Dutch public broadcaster NPO.
* Netflix Inc. appointed Madeleine de Cock Buning as its head of public policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, effective mid-January 2020, Telecompaper reported Dec. 5. De Cock Buning, who will become a lobbyist for the streaming company's activities in the region, was previously chair of the Dutch Media Commission.
COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY MOVES
* Telekom Slovenije dd named Tomaž Seljak president of its management board for a permanent four-year term, effective Dec. 10. Seljak has held the post in an acting capacity, most recently since Nov. 14. The Slovenian operator also appointed Matjaž Beričič as a management board member in charge of technology.
* Boris Drilo will continue as Hrvatski Telekom's chief technical and information officer for a new three-year term, beginning Jan. 1, 2020. Drilo will also remain on the Croatian operator's management board as the member in charge of technology and IT functions, according to a Dec. 10 statement.
* Vodafone Group PLC unit Vodafone Turkey named Thibaud Rerolle vice president in charge of technology on its executive board, Telecompaper reported Dec. 10.
* Hungarian telecommunications service provider Magyar Telekom will revamp its leadership structure in 2020. Effective Jan. 1, 2020, the company's existing management committee will be disbanded, with its duties redistributed to the company's directors and executive officers, Magyar Telekom's board said in a statement. Additionally, CFO János Szabó will step down from his role, effective Feb. 29, 2020. Darja Dodonova will become CFO, effective March 1, 2020. Dodonova most recently was a vice president of technology controlling for Deutsche Telekom AG's European operations.
* Mats Olsson will step down as chairman of Swedish IT company Knowit AB during its annual general meeting in April 2020. Knowit's nomination committee proposed Jon Risfelt as the new chairman, according to a Dec. 9 news release.
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