RTL finds Habets successor in Netherlands

European broadcaster RTL Group has found a successor for Bert Habets at its Dutch operation.

With former RTL Nederland chief executive Habets recently upped to co-CEO of the wider RTL business, Sven Sauvé has been promoted.

The current Dutch COO will take over as CEO on July 1.

He will chair RTL Nederland’s executive management team, which comprises CFO Vivienne de Leeuw, chief content officer Matthias Scholten, commercial chief Ton Rozestraten and tech boss Giovanni Piccirilli.

Sauvé has been with the business since 2007, having previously been business director of RTL Nederland Productions.

He became RTL Nederland COO in September 2012, overseeing finances, content acquisition and operational processes for linear channels and on-demand services.

He is also managing director of SVOD service Videoland.

He worked at Endemol Nederland (now part of Endemol Shine Group) between 2002 and 2005, and Eyeworks (now part of Warner Bros. International Television Production) between 2005 and 2007.

“I am delighted that we have found, in Sven Sauvé, an experienced and dynamic executive from within our Group to lead RTL Nederland into its next phase,” said Habets.

“Sven combines business acumen, leadership skills and a distinct sense for future developments. He is deeply familiar with RTL Nederland and the Dutch media landscape and has been a key force in defining and implementing RTL Nederland’s consumer-focused strategy of delivering first-class local content across all linear and non-linear platforms.”