BBC Worldwide Taps Former ITVS GE Exec Tobi de Graaff for Western Europe

LONDON: Tobi de Graaff, formerly the director of global TV distribution at ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE), has joined BBC Worldwide as the executive VP for Western Europe.

De Graaff will be overseeing BBC Worldwide's businesses across German- and French-speaking markets in Europe, as well as Benelux, Scandinavia, Italy and Iberia. He will be responsible for all TV and digital sales, channels, production and format sales, licensing and publishing, and live events for the Western European region. The role sees him reporting to Paul Dempsey, BBC Worldwide's president of global markets. He takes on the new post August 18.

The role of executive VP for Western Europe was previously held by David Weiland, who became executive VP for Asia at BBC Worldwide in May.

Dempsey said: “BBC Worldwide has been enjoying strong revenue and profit growth in Western Europe and with Tobi joining the team I am confident that we can scale even greater heights. We have big ambitions for this region and I am delighted we have found a leader of Tobi’s caliber to lead the next phase of growth.”

De Graaff added: “BBC Worldwide is a world-class organization and I’m hugely excited to be part of this company. Working across a wide range of businesses such as channels, TV sales and production is a challenge that I’m really looking forward to.”