FremantleMedia Australia Taps Matchbox Exec as New CEO

Chris Oliver-Taylor, currently managing director of NBCUniversal-owned Matchbox Pictures, has been tapped as CEO of FremantleMedia Australia (FMA).

Oliver-Taylor will join FremantleMedia later this year. Reporting to FremantleMedia Group CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz, he will assume full responsibility for overall management and business performance across Australia and New Zealand.

He comes from Matchbox Pictures, where, since 2011, he has led the company through a sustained period of growth. Oliver-Taylor began his career at the BBC in London, working on shows ranging from Top of the Pops and The Generation Game to Match of the Day and Westminster Live.

Frot-Coutaz said: “Chris is one of Australia’s most admired and dynamic television executives, with an outstanding reputation for delivering impactful scripted and unscripted entertainment that plays brilliantly in Australia and around the world. I am delighted to have attracted someone of his caliber and passion to lead our Australian operation and I can’t wait to welcome him to the global Fremantle family.”

Oliver-Taylor said: “Leading Matchbox Pictures has been the most creatively rewarding chapter of my career so far, but the opportunity to lead FremantleMedia Australia and join the outstanding global team is one I couldn’t resist. From the world’s biggest entertainment formats to some of the most ambitious dramas on television, Fremantle is an absolute powerhouse—and I couldn’t be more excited about the many creative partnerships and possibilities that lie ahead across Australia, New Zealand and internationally.”