Banijay Finland CEO Tapped as MD of FremantleMedia Finland

HELSINKI/LONDON: Joonas Hytönen has been named managing director of FremantleMedia Finland, joining the company from Banijay Finland, where he served as CEO.

Hytönen will report to Daniela Matei, CEO for the Nordics, Eastern Europe and Balkans (NOREEBA). He will sit on the NOREEBA senior management team. Hytönen will be responsible for the strategic vision and overall management of FremantleMedia Finland. In addition to overseeing original program development and the production of FremantleMedia formats in the market, Hytönen will also be charged with growing the business across digital, licensing and ad-funded programming.

Prior to serving as CEO of Banijay Finland, Hytönen was the head of entertainment at Moskito Television, part of the NICE Entertainment Group. He will take up his new role in 2016.

Matei said: “Joonas knows the Finnish television industry inside out and has a passion for media [and] a strong track record in delivering successful prime-time hits in this market. He will be a fantastic asset to the FremantleMedia business and I’m very much looking forward to working with him.”

Hytönen added: “FremantleMedia is one of the biggest entertainment brands in the world and it is a real privilege to be heading up an organization with a portfolio of must-see shows. There are some exciting opportunities ahead of us and I’m looking forward to working with the talented team at FremantleMedia Finland to turn these into reality.”

Jacob Houlind, the CEO Banijay's Nordic group, commented, "Further to today’s announcement regarding the departure of Joonas Hytönen of Banijay Finland, as part of the current management team Martti Suovinen CCO, Rami Jahkonen CFO, and Suvi Oja Heiniemi COO will become joint interim CEOs. We expect to start a recruitment process of a new Banijay Finland CEO by December."