Asacha Media Group chief exec departs

Asacha Media Group’s co-founder and chief exec Gaspard de Chavagnac has exited the company following its integration with Fremantle.

The super-indie acquired the five-year-old European group last year.

De Chavagnac will remain a shareholder of Asacha label Mintee Productions, which he founded in 2017 and, with Florane Cortes, produced Cimetière Indien for Canal+ and Paolo for HBO.

Asacha was established in 2020 and is home to eight labels across scripted, unscripted and feature films including the UK’s Arrow Media, Red Planet Pictures, and Wag, Mintee, Kabo Family and Srab Films (France) and Picomedia and Stand By Me (Italy).

It became the third largest independent producer group in the European market prior to its consolidation by Fremantle, with de Chavagnac’s ability to forge partnerships with talent and developing ambitious originals attributed to helping its growth.

He said: “I am very proud that, in just four years, my partners and I have built the third largest independent player in the European film and audiovisual production market. The development of Asacha Media Group has been a tremendous human, creative and industrial adventure, and an immense entrepreneurial success.

“I’m delighted that the careers of all Asacha Media Group’s associate producers will continue within Fremantle, one of the world’s leading content creation and distribution groups, which shares all the values we initiated. I wish all my associates and the Fremantle teams every success.”

Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s group chief operating officer and chief exec of Continental Europe, thanked de Chavagnac for his “visionary leadership” and the key role he played in establishing Asacha and leading its successful integration into Fremantle.

Scrosati said: “The individual Asacha businesses across France, Italy and UK have all complemented our wider portfolio of labels, while maintaining full editorial independence, and the results being delivered by their talented teams perfectly underline the numerous benefits of Fremantle’s global reach and expertise.”