New CEO at Southern Star

LONDON: Industry veteran Janeen Faithfull, who spent 15 years at Australia’s Seven Network, has been tapped to lead Southern Star as its CEO.

Faithfull’s appointment follows news that Rory Callaghan will be stepping down. A start date will be announced in due course, but Faithfull will be reporting to Martha Brass, the managing director of international operations at Endemol Group. Faithfull has been in the industry for nearly three decades, having served at Seven for 15 years, most recently as the head of content and rights management. Previous posts also included VP of business affairs at Columbia Tristar Television in the U.S. and a senior business affairs role at Nine Network in Australia.

Brass commented: “Janeen is an outstanding executive with over two decades of senior management experience in commercial television. Her expertise spans broadcasting, development, production, distribution and exploitation, working both in Australia and the U.S. and across both scripted and non-scripted genres. We are thrilled to have someone of her caliber to take Southern Star into its next chapter of growth.”

Faithfull said: “I feel very excited and extremely fortunate to be taking on this role for Endemol and I look forward to leading the very successful, creative and motivated Southern Star team into the future. I am thankful for the challenges, experiences, successes and most importantly the support I received during my years at the Seven Network. Endemol is a world leader in television programming and I look forward to ensuring that Southern Star continues to contribute to the shared goals and successes of the Group.”