PARIS, FRANCE and LOS ANGELES, CA – January 04, 2017 – With Seasons 3 and 4 of Narcos in pre-production for Gaumont Television, along with the animated series Do, Re & Mi and Herself The Elf having recently been unveiled for Gaumont Animation, Christophe Riandee, Vice CEO of Gaumont, announced today that Gaumont Television has appointed experienced television executive Vanessa Shapiro to the position of President of Worldwide Distribution. Based in Los Angeles, Shapiro will report directly to Riandee, and split her time between the Los Angeles and Paris offices. Shapiro will work closely with Gene Stein, President of Gaumont Television U.S., Nicolas Atlan, President of Gaumont Animation, and Isabelle DeGeorges, Senior VP, France. Elizabeth Dreyer, Senior VP European Co-Productions, Hana Zidek, VP of International Distribution, and Nicola Andrews, VP of International Distribution, will now report to Shapiro.
“Given all of our recent activity on both the drama and animated fronts, coupled with the fact that Gene and Nicolas are both in Los Angeles, we decided to move our sales and distribution from London to Los Angeles. Vanessa is the perfect hire for this position given her outstanding track record and 20+ years of experience, her solid and longstanding relationships around the world, and her strong financial background,” stated Riandee.
In her new role, Shapiro will be responsible for the worldwide sales and distribution of Gaumont Television’s entire catalogue, including its drama series, animation titles, and French series. She will oversee new and existing business development, will spearhead all sales, pre-sales and co-productions liaising closely with the development department, and will manage the marketing needs for the company, including the promotion and exploitation of Gaumont’s content for all programming initiatives.
Shapiro joins Gaumont Television from MarVista Entertainment where she served as Executive Vice President, Distribution since 2007. While at MarVista, she led the sales, marketing, and contract administration departments, while overseeing all streams of revenue reporting to the CEO. Prior to MarVista, she was with Sony Pictures Entertainment from 1997-2007, where she held numerous positions throughout her tenure ultimately serving as Director, Worldwide Pay Television from 2001-2007. Fluent in both English and French, Shapiro holds a Masters Degree in Political Science and International Finance from Institut d’Etudes Politiques d’Aix-en-Provence, France (Sciences Po Aix).
ABOUT GAUMONT
Formed in 1895, Gaumont is the first and oldest film company in the world. In the past few years, the company’s release schedule has continued to increase across film and television production, financing, and releasing in both French and English. The film library now encompasses over 1100 titles including films from such prestigious directors as: Luc Besson, Matthieu Kassovitz, Francis Veber, Jean-Jacques Beineix, Federico Fellini, Maurice Pialat and Jean-Luc Godard. In 2011, Gaumont co-produced and distributed The Intouchables, one of the highest-grossing foreign-language movies ever with over $450 million in revenue to date.
Gaumont Television was created in 2011, producing and distributing high-quality programming for the U.S. and international markets. With offices in Paris, London, and Los Angeles, key drama series include the award-winning Narcos and Hannibal, and the upcoming dramas The Frozen Dead, Crosshair, and Spy City, amongst many others. Gaumont Television is also one of today’s leading producers and distributors of children’s entertainment with a catalogue of over 30 kids’ television series and 800 half-hours of animation broadcast in over 130 countries.
