S&P Global Market Intelligence presents a biweekly rundown of executive and board changes in the European media and communications industries.
TOP MOVES
* Gavin Patterson will resign as CEO of British Telecom later in 2018. The company's board anticipates to have selected a replacement for Patterson during the second half. Patterson will continue serving as CEO until a replacement has been named.
* ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE said COO Christof Wahl will leave, effective July 31. Wahl has been responsible for the online video business, advertising technology and data department.
MEDIA INDUSTRY MOVES
* Netflix Inc. has tapped Diego Buñuel to serve as its director of original documentaries for its upcoming new headquarters in London, Broadcast reported. Buñuel, who confirmed his new post in a tweet, will commission original documentaries for Europe amid Netflix's push for more original factual content. He will relocate from Los Angeles to join Netflix's London team. Buñuel is also CEO of factual producer Explorer Productions, according to his LinkedIn profile. He previously worked for Vivendi SA unit Societe d'Edition de Canal Plus SA as head of documentaries.
* Laure Bezault has been appointed secretary general of information at TF1 Group, effective Aug. 6. Bezault succeeds Eric Jaouen, and will lead the various projects involving the news teams.
* Christine Cauquelin has been appointed Director of Discovery Channels and CANAL+ Group documentaries. Reporting to Jean-Marc Juramie, executive vice president of channels and paid programs, she is responsible for documentary productions for all the Group's channels, including CANAL+, C8 and PLANETE+.
* Tjibbe Joustra has been appointed supervisory board chairman of Dutch public broadcaster NPO, according to a news release by the Dutch government. Joustra, who is also chairman of the Dutch Safety Board, will succeed Bruno Bruins.
* Meanwhile, NPO television director Frans Klein will stay in his current function, contrary to rumors that he would succeed Erland Galjaard as program director of RTL Group's RTL Nederland, Villamedia reported June 6.
* RTL Group announced that Marc Haberland will be a new program manager for German radio studio RTL Radio Center Berlin. His functions will include the management of 104.6 RTL, 105.5 Spreeradio, RTL Radio, The Wave, as well as all digital online audio services, podcasts and webstreams of RTL Radio Center Berlin. Haberland reports to Stephan Schmitter, CEO of RTL Radio Deutschland.
COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY MOVES
* Arnauld Van Eeckhout has been appointed secretary general of Bouygues SA following the retirement of Jean-François Guillemin. Van Eeckhout will be in charge of the legal department of Bouygues, the secretariat of the group's board and for matters relating to the group's ethics, professional conduct and compliance.