Maria Kyriacou Confirmed For Key ProSiebenSat.1 Role

Maria Kyriacou has been confirmed as ProSiebenSat.1 Media‘s new Supervisory Board Chairwoman.

She succeeds Andreas Wiele in the powerful position, following an almost unanimous vote at ProSieben’s AGM today. Around 98% approved of her appointment.

Former Paramount and ITV Studios international chief Kyriacou was nominated for the post in April, amid wrangling about the future of the German broadcaster. Leading shareholder MediaForEurope had made a lowball offer to take over the company and another key investor, PFF IM, was considering the options in front of it.

PFF ultimately backed the vision of the existing ProSieben management and made its own offer to increase its shareholding to 29.99%, while not seeking a takeover. ProSieben last week advised shareholders to reject MFE’s play and Kryiacou’s appointment suggests that advice is being heeded.

Kyriacou thanked shareholders for their “great trust,” adding: “Working closely with the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board, my ambition is to accelerate our transformation journey, provide fresh momentum, and contribute the perspective I’ve gained through my international career. The company has a clear strategy, with a strong focus on its core business Entertainment, putting [streamer] Joyn at the center of this strategy. ProSiebenSat.1 can inspire, inform, as well as entertain – and I am excited to help seize these opportunities together.”

ProSieben CEO and Exec Board Chairman Bert Habets pointed to Kyriacou’s “nearly 30 years of leadership in the global media industry,” adding: “With her drive and extensive expertise, she will be an excellent addition to the Supervisory Board and a strong support in its work.”

Kyriacou exited her role as Paramount’s President of Broadcast & Studios for International Markets last year. Further back, she was President of International at ITV Studios and also worked at Disney in senior digital distribution roles for 15 years.

At the AGM today, Habets once again touted ProSieben’s transformation strategy, moving from a broadcast-first business to one that puts Joyn at the heart of a digital entertainment business.

“In the past year we have reached many important milestones for ProSiebenSat.1,” he said. “We have laid a solid foundation to support the future growth of our entertainment business. Our challenges will remain big. But we have a clear strategy and will continue to deliver on executing it. I am confident that we are on the right track to achieving our goal: becoming the number one entertainment player in the German-speaking region.”

In further AGM news, Supervisory Board members Katrin Burkhardt and Simone Scettri were re-elected, and a small dividend was approved.