Mediawan restructures senior exec team

See-Saw Films and Drama Republic owner Mediawan has reshuffled its top team by naming chief operating officers for its international and French scripted units.

Matthieu Thollin and Dominik Schmelck were previously co-chief operating officers of its French scripted division, a role that the latter will now hold individually.

Schmelck reports into Mediawan’s French scripted chief exec Thomas Anargyros.

Thollin, meanwhile, becomes chief operating officer of Mediawan International and will work with chief content officer Elisabeth d’Arvieu to strengthen production synergies across genres.

He will focus predominantly on Europe and Africa, with the aim of accelerating the international out of formats and shows. Monica Galer, who had led Mediawan Spain, will support the group until the end of 2026.

D’Arvieu, Mediawan’s group chief content officer and chief exec of Mediawan Pictures, said Thollin’s appointment would accelerate the coimpany’s international development plans.

“His deep knowledge of the group will help facilitate collaborations and strengthen synergies between labels across different territories, ” she added.

Thollin oversaw the roll-out of The History Channel before moving to France’s Groupe M6 as deputy director of productions, responsible for negotiating program investments.

In 2014, he became MD of Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp Television, which Mediawan acquired for €11m in 2018, with the exec moving to his most recent chief operating officer role, overseeing French scripted shows such as Hot Ones, HPI and Anthracite.

Schmelck moved into TV at Lagardère Group, before becoming chief exec at Makever Group in 2014. After Mediawan acquired the company, Schmelck became chief operating officer of France Scripted, overseeing and supporting the group’s fiction producers.

Mediawan was formed in 2015 by Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse, with the backing of US private equity firm KKR and counts Qatar Investment Authority and Providence Equity Partners among its investors.

It has been a frequent buyer of produciton firms across Europe and the US, with its latest deal being the acquisition of Peter Chernin’s North Road Company last year.