Turner Laing to keynote at MIPCOM

Endemol Shine Group CEO Sophie Turner Laing will keynote at Cannes trade event MIPCOM in October.

The event on Monday, October 5, will mark the first major industry she has presented at after taking on the top job at the merged Endemol, Shine Group and Core Media at the turn of the year.

MIPCOM organiser Reed MIDEM has already unveiled ITV CEO Adam Crozier as a Media Mastermind Keynote Series speaker.

Formerly Sky’s managing director of content, Turner Laing now oversees a production and distribution group of 120 companies in more than 30 markets and a library of more than 600 revenue-generating formats in scripted and non-scripted titles such as Big Brother, MasterChef, Broadchurch and So You Think You Can Dance.

Besides her time at Sky, where she oversaw the deal to form Sky Atlantic through a £160 million (US$247.8 million) deal with HBO, she held posts such as acting director of television at UK pubcaster the BBC.

Having begun her career at Henson International Television, she co-founded HIT Entertainment with Peter Orton in 1989 and then joined Flextech (now Virgin Media) as a buyer.