Sky Studios has secured a big name to succeed outgoing CEO Gary Davey.
The Comcast-owned European content powerhouse has announced the appointment of YouTube EMEA chief and former Fremantle boss Cécile Frot-Coutaz. She will join Sky’s production and development division in September after Davey announced his retirement last year.
Deadline understands that Frot-Coutaz has been weighing up a return to traditional television for some time after she held meaningful talks to become the next CEO of BBC Studios last year. She ultimately turned the role down and BBC Studios is yet to name Tim Davie’s successor.
Sky Studios was established in 2019, bringing together the pay-TV giant’s originals commissioning and production under one roof. Frot-Coutaz will oversee an empire behind shows including Gangs Of London and I Hate Suzie.
Sky Studios owns several production companies, not least The Great British Bake Off producer Love Productions, while Frot-Coutaz’s remit also includes Sky Studios Elstree, a state-of-the-art film and TV studios that will house 13 sound stages from next year.
Sky Group CEO Dana Strong said: “Cécile is a global leader in content and entertainment and has the bold vision and unique mix of experience needed to take Sky Studios to the next level of becoming a European production powerhouse.”
Frot-Coutaz added: “Sky is a company that I have always admired as a content maker, as a partner and as a consumer. Like the rest of the industry I have witnessed the launch of Sky Studios just over two years ago and have seen the ambition and speed by which the organisation has grown. I could not pass up the opportunity to lead the studio through its next phase of growth.”
Frot-Coutaz has worked at YouTube since October 2018, based out of London. Prior to this, she spent more than six years at the helm of Fremantle, which is behind global brands including Got Talent and American Idol.