99 to Beat firm Primitives names managing director

Belgian format house Primitives has appointed Simone de Pruyssenaere de la Woestyne as its managing director, with co-founder Jan Huyse stepping down.

Huyse has headed the Belgium-headquartered specialist formats distributor since 2018 but will pass on his remit to de Pruyssenaere in January.

She joined the company in 2022 as director of sales and acquisitions from Destination X firm Be-Entertainment, and has led on deals for shows such as 99 to Beat and The Mole.

99 to Beat has become a particular hit of late, having been acquired by 12 broadcasters, including Fox in the US and AtresMedia in Spain.

De Pruyssenaere has also held sales and acquisitions roles at Nordic World, Magnify Media and Absolutely Independent, alongside running her own consultancy, Cliffhanger Media, for the past decade.

Huyse said: “Primitives started as small vehicle to help three Belgian independent producers distribute their formats to the wider world.

“Seeing it develop into a solid player in the formats market is one of the great professional pleasures of my long career in the business. I want to thank our rightsholders and clients for their trust, our shareholders for giving us a free rein in terms of plans and ambitions — and, of course, the great staff that made it all happen.

“Special thanks go out to [former sales chief] Siobhan Crawford for daring to be bold and opening up our limited Belgian point of view.

“Finally, I could not be happier that Simone is taking over the baton. Her excellent work as sales and acquisitions director has helped make this little Belgian company the number-one independent distributor in the world. And I’m convinced there’s a lot more to come.”

De Pruyssenaere added: “Primitives has achieved the rare feat of sustaining growth, revenue and relevance in a volatile global market.

“The past year has been one of our strongest yet, with formats including 99 To Beat, Zero Stars and The Ultimate Celebrity Car Park Showdown Squad picking up real momentum internationally.

“We seem to have hit a sweet spot between scale, quality and originality — plus we can draw on Belgium’s well-deserved reputation for creative risk-taking and quirky storytelling.”