Veteran Fremantle executive Amelia Brown has been appointed the new CEO of Fremantle U.K., replacing Simon Andreae who abruptly stepped down from the role earlier this week citing health reasons.
Brown, who has been with Fremantle for 20 years, is the former managing director of its U.K. label Thames and has been a key creative on trademark Fremantle hit shows as “Britain’s Got Talent” and “The X Factor.”
Fremantle in a statement noted that Brown has also been instrumental in strengthening Thames’ slate of programming and expanding the scripted production outfit into the world of reality television with shows like “Too Hot To Handle” for Netflix and upcoming entertainment show “Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream” for ITV. Her successor as MD of Thames will be announced soon.
In her new role Brown will join Fremantle Global Leadership team and directly manage the output of Fremantle’s British labels Thames, Talkback, and Naked. Majority owned outfit Label 1, producers of “Hospital, World’s Collide: The Manchester Bombing,” will also report to Brown.
She will report to Group CEO Jennifer Mullin.
Fremantle’s U.K. scripted label Euston Films will report to Christian Vesper, CEO of Global Drama, while recent acquisitions 72 Films and Wildstar Films will continue to report to their individual boards.
“I have had the pleasure of working closely with Amelia for over five years and know that she will make a fantastic leader of our U.K. business,” said Mullin in a statement. She praised Brown as someone who “Knows how to make great shows, and more than that is an incredibly astute businesswoman and inclusive and inspiring leader. I am looking forward to collaborating even more closely with her and supporting her vision for the future.”