Fremantle Italy brings on Disney+ exec in leadership rejig

Fremantle has hired Disney+ exec Alessandro Saba to serve alongside Valerio Fiorespino as co-chief executives of the group’s Italian business.

The leadership roles have been newly created for Fremantle Italy, which houses established producers Fremantle Italia, Lux Vide, The Apartment, Wildside, Picomedia and Stand By Me, with label chief now taking dual reporting lines into Saba and Fiorespino. Group functions will be divided by area of expertise.

Saba joins the super-indie from Disney, where he was head of original productions and helped launch the US giant’s flagship streamer Disney+ in Italy. Prior to joining Disney, he was vice-president of Fox Networks Group and before that spent 15 years at Mediaset, latterly as head of content for Italia1.

His credits include Zelig, Amici and Le Iene for free-to-air TV, and I Leoni di Sicilia, Le Fate Ignoranti, The Good Mothers and Avetrana for streaming platforms.

Fiorespino has served as interim chief exec of Fremantle Italy since December, balancing it with his full-time role of chief operating officer, which he has held since April 2024. He was general manager of Hotel Costiera producer Lux Vide for three years before its consolidation by Fremantle, and prior to that was chief corporate officer at Sparkle.

The pair will report to Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s chief operating officer and chief executive officer of Continental Europe. They assume their roles from 1 October.

Saba said: “It is a great pleasure to join the Fremantle Group and work alongside Valerio in this new adventure.

“I have always seen Fremantle as a home for creativity and innovation in the service of high-quality content production, both scripted and unscripted – a fertile environment for the creative freedom of directors and writers. I cannot wait to start working with the excellent managers and the extraordinary talents of our team.”

Fiorespino added: “I am pleased to take on this important role and grateful for the trust placed in me. Fremantle is an extraordinary company, capable of producing world-class content, and I am certain that Alessandro’s arrival will enrich its vision, supporting the authors who are part of our creative ‘family’.

“The coming years will undoubtedly bring both challenges and great opportunities.”

Scrosati said: “Valerio and Alessandro are two executives of extraordinary experience, competence, and vision, and the Fremantle companies in Italy could not have found better leadership.

“I want to thank Valerio for the excellent work he has already done on an interim basis over the past few months, and I am truly delighted to welcome Alessandro to our group.”