WarnerMedia Makes Senior Content Hires in Asia

WarnerMedia has further bolstered its original productions teams in Asia, in advance of the launch of HBO Max in the region.

In Singapore, Mark Francis has been appointed group lead of production and development (scripted and unscripted), and Wee Shi Ming has been named lead of entertainment content acquisition for North Asia content. They both report to Magdalene Ew, WarnerMedia’s head of content for entertainment for Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Francis, former head of OTT content at Astro and iflix chief content officer, will lead a regional team to develop Asian original productions under the “Max Originals” banner.

Wee started in late 2021 in the content acquisition team and will focus on securing Japanese, Korean, Chinese and anime titles. Wee now works alongside Katheryn Lim, who leads content acquisition for international and English-language entertainment titles.

In Mumbai, Saugata Mukherjee joins WarnerMedia as head of content for entertainment in India. The newly created role reports to Clement Schwebig, managing director of India, Southeast Asia and Korea.

A former SonyLiv and Disney executive, Mukherjee also joined in late 2021 and is responsible for commissioning local originals, as well as acquiring and developing Indian content across all general entertainment genres.

Schwebig said: “These are vital roles as we look to ramp up our original content and programming ambitions in this region. Saugata, Mark and Shi Ming have a great eye for a winning project and have enviable connections within the industry. With them all now in place over the past few months, we’re looking in great shape to entertain local audiences with a well-rounded and premium slate.”