James Baker Appointed President & COO of Red Arrow Studios

Jan Frouman, chairman and CEO of Red Arrow Studios and a member of ProSiebenSat.1 Media’s executive board, has decided to leave both posts when his current management contract concludes at the end of February 2019, with James Baker now appointed as president and COO of Red Arrow Studios.

Frouman joined ProSiebenSat.1 in January 2004 following the acquisition led by Haim Saban, for whom Frouman worked in Los Angeles. Prior to becoming chairman and CEO of Red Arrow Studios in 2010, Frouman held several senior corporate positions within ProSiebenSat.1.

Baker, who is currently COO of Red Arrow Studios, will report directly to Max Conze, CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 Media. Baker joined Red Arrow in 2011. Prior to this, Baker spent 11 years at Sky and also worked with media private equity group Fleming Media before joining Current TV.

In his new role, Baker will manage the 20 production companies that are part of Red Arrow Studios’ global network, take responsibility for Red Arrow’s strategic expansion initiatives and work closely with Wolfgang Link, chief content and channel officer, and Henrik Pabst, incoming chief commercial officer (as of January 2019), at ProSiebenSat.1’s Entertainment segment.

Bo Stehmeier, president of Red Arrow Studios International as of January 2019, will report to Baker and oversee TV distributor Red Arrow Studios International and U.S. independent film distributor Gravitas Ventures. Reza Izad, CEO of Studio71, will continue to lead the multiplatform company and report directly to Conze.

Werner Brandt, supervisory board chairman of ProSiebenSat.1 Media, said: “I would like to thank Jan Frouman sincerely for his outstanding work during the last 15 years. He has built Red Arrow from scratch into a leading independent production group, and always advanced the company’s content production footprint with passion and dedication. We all wish him the best of luck in his new endeavors.”

Frouman added: “My time with ProSiebenSat.1 was a defining life experience. Professionally. Culturally. Socially. I have worked with talented colleagues around the world. My decision to leave wasn’t made lightly. But I’m simply ready for a new chapter. James has been a part of the success story since the early days. Red Arrow is in very good hands.”