CME Names New Directors to the Board, Chairman

HAMILTON: Central European Media Enterprises (CME) has added four members to its board of directors, including John K. Billock, who is also tapped to serve as the non-executive chairman.

Billock currently serves as member of the board of advisors at Simulmedia and was previously director of TRA Inc. and TiVo Research and Analytics. He has now been appointed to CME's board of directors and will serve as the non-executive chairman of the board.

Gerhard Zeiler, the president of Turner Broadcasting System International, is also joining CME's board of directors. Prior to Turner, Zeiler was the CEO of RTL group from 2003 to 2012 and was a member of the executive board of Bertelsmann from 2005 to 2012.

Also joining the CME board are Iris Knobloch, who has served as the president of Warner Bros. France since 2006, and Doug Shapiro, the senior VP of international and corporate strategy at Time Warner.

In a joint statement, Michael Del Nin and Christoph Mainusch, the co-CEOs of CME, said: “We are pleased to welcome this accomplished slate of executives to our board of directors and are very excited to have John at the lead. The depth of operational and strategic experience they bring will be invaluable to the company and its shareholders as we strive to maximize the value of our leading brands.”

Billock commented: “CME has such a unique collection of broadcast assets with leading audience shares. I’m privileged to have this opportunity to begin working with CME’s board of directors and executive management team during this important period in the company’s development.”