Endemol Shine Alum Cathy Payne Named CEO of Banijay Rights

Cathy Payne, previously the CEO of Endemol Shine International, has been brought on board Banijay Group to lead the distribution strategy and activities and take the division through its next phase of growth.

Appointed as CEO of Banijay Rights, Payne will be tasked with overseeing the positioning and exploitation of the company’s expanding catalog, building the business’ reputation and that of its brands across the world. The move follows almost ten years with Endemol (most recently operating as Endemol Shine International), where she directed all worldwide distribution efforts, leading its six-territory-strong team and in-house and third-party content sales, as well as working closely with the commercial team on IP exploitation.

Tim Mutimer will now take on the role of executive VP for EMEA sales and acquisitions at Banijay Rights. Working collaboratively with Payne, he will oversee the team and all activities for the region.

Payne will assume her new role on April 27, reporting to CEO Marco Bassetti.

Bassetti said: “Cathy is an exceptional leader and incredibly well-respected industry mogul. A creative entrepreneur with extraordinary market knowledge and commercial intelligence, she is behind some of the world’s biggest distribution successes. Having worked with her directly and admired her work from afar, we have long-followed her journey and could not be more excited to have her joining ours, as we continue to build the business and its footprint worldwide.”

Payne added: “It has never been a more exciting time for content creation and distribution, and I am energized to be joining the team as it embarks on this period of expansion.”