The role of CEO Northern Europe sees the promotion of Fremantle’s Georgette Schlick, while Jaime Ondarza is appointed to the role of CEO Southern Europe. They will both report to Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle COO and CEO, Continental Europe.
Fremantle today announces a new European leadership team, with the creation of new CEO roles for both Northern Europe and Southern Europe. The new positions will report directly into Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle Group COO and CEO Continental Europe and have been created as part of its global growth strategy.
The role of CEO Northern Europe sees the promotion of Fremantle’s Georgette Schlick. Based in Amsterdam, Schlick will oversee Fremantle’s businesses in The Netherlands and Belgium, including scripted label Fiction Valley, and Fremantle production territories Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Poland. The This Is Nice labels, which we acquired in 2021, will continue to be overseen by CEO Morten Mogensen, who will now report to Schlick.
Jaime Ondarza is appointed to the role of CEO Southern Europe with immediate effect, joining Fremantle from Paramount Global. Based in Rome, Ondarza will oversee Fremantle’s production businesses in France, Israel (Abot Hameiri), Italy, Portugal, and Spain.
Georgette Schlick and Jaime Ondarza will drive the strategic direction of these territories, working closely with the regional CEOs, to continue delivering exceptional programming and innovation across all genres.
Founder-led drama labels in these territories – Miso Film (Denmark, Sweden, Norway), Wildside, The Apartment Pictures and Lux Vide (Italy) – report to Christian Vesper in his recently announced new role of CEO, Global Drama.
Andrea Scrosati, Group COO and CEO Continental Europe, Fremantle, said: “Through acquisitions and organic growth, Fremantle today is bigger and stronger than ever. We have carefully designed this new structure to best support our regional CEOs across Europe. Georgette and Jaime are the perfect choices to manage these key roles and future proof our rapid business expansion. I am delighted to welcome Jaime into the Fremantle family and I look forward to working with him closely, having appreciated his professional expertise and personal sophistication for many years in our previous roles. I also look forward working even more closely with Georgette. I have been incredibly impressed by her managerial and leadership skills which make her a truly exceptional executive.”
Georgette Schlick, CEO Northern Europe, Fremantle, said: “Over the last ten years, Fremantle has given me many opportunities for personal and professional growth. I feel extremely privileged to be given the chance to grow further in this new role. I am very much looking forward working together with the Benelux, Nordic and Polish teams to achieve our ambition in being the place creatives want to call home.”
Jaime Ondarza CEO Southern Europe added: “I am incredibly excited to join Fremantle, a leading international content group that has always set the best standards in the industry; creating globally acclaimed formats and franchises, and great stories with an innovative and creative approach. Fremantle is the home for creative talents and I’m proud to join Andrea and the incredible Fremantle team.”
Ondarza joins Fremantle from Paramount Global where he was most recently EVP Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa and Head of Streaming Southern EMEA and Latin America. At Paramount, Jaime successfully drove the company through its digital transformation in the region, and under his leadership oversaw the launch of Pluto (FAST service) in Spain (end 2020), France and Italy (2021); he oversaw the launch of Paramount+ (SVOD service) in Italy (Sept 2022) and France (Dec 2022). He previously held long-running executive roles at Warner Media, where he launched and developed new business and brands, and at Boing, the JV between Mediaset and Warner Media.
Prior to her promotion to Northern Europe CEO, Schlick was CEO of Fremantle Netherlands and Belgium, a role which she has held since 2014. In this role she was responsible for Dutch entertainment label Blue Circle (known for successful formats like The Masked Singer and Farmer Wants A Wife), factual entertainment and documentaries production company No Pictures Please and scripted label Fiction Valley. Before joining Fremantle, amongst others Schlick was CEO of Dutch commercial broadcaster SBS Broadcasting (currently Talpa Network) and CEO of Dutch multimedia facility company DutchView (currently NEP).
