Banijay UK chief to exit

Rod Henwood is stepping down from his post as CEO of Banijay UK, Belgium and Netherlands.

He will leave in November, with “an announcement will follow shortly regarding the organisational changes that will be made following Rod’s departure”, according to a Banijay statement.

Henwood’s post put him in charge of prodcos such as RDF, IWC, Touchpaper Television, Bwark, Comedy Unit, Zodiak Belgium and Zodiak Netherlands. He also oversees Sol, Banijay’s Mumbai-based production company.

“I have enjoyed working with Rod since the merger and we have been discussing collaboratively over the summer how best to organise our activities, given the group’s corporate location and Rod’s own aspirations,” said Banijay Group CEO Marco Bassetti.

“In reaching our amicable conclusion to part company, I want to thank him for his significant contribution to both Zodiak and Banijay and he leaves with our best wishes for the future.”

He had joined Banijay predecessor Zodiak Media in 2014 from children’s social world website Bin Weevils, where he had been a founding investor and CEO. Before that, he spent three years with UK broadcaster Channel 4 as new business director and board member.

His exit from Banijay UK comes after the merger of Banijay and Zodiak earlier this year. That merger saw the exit of Zodiak CEO Marc-Antoine d’Halluin, who had hired Henwood two years ago. d’Halluin recently emerged at Luxembourg’s M7 Group as chairman.

Banijay said Henwood during his tenure as CEO of Banijay UK “the division’s output and profitability has grown significantly across all genres, before and since the merger”.

“Now that the merger has been concluded and bedded down, and that the business is trading well within a group whose corporate centre is in Paris, it makes sense from all our perspectives to make a change,” said Henwood. “I have very much enjoyed my time at every stage with Zodiak and Banijay. I have had great support in my role from the talented teams in each of the companies, as well as from my peers and board.

Other exits that have followed the merger include Banijay International managing director Emmanuelle Namiech, who remerged as CEO of Passion Distribution in March, and head of sales Michael Jackson, who joined Canada’s Blue Ant International.

Henwood was in the past managing director of the now-defunct Fox Kids Europe and ITV-owned Central TV businesses, and was turnaround CEO and non-executive director of Premium TV, which became digital broadcasting business Perform Group.