Zodiak Nederland hires ex-Endemol Shine exec

Zodiak Nederland has brought over former Endemol Shine Group formats exec Remco Lentjes to take a new chief creative officer post.

Lentjes will oversee development of original concepts and international format adaptations at the Banijay Group-owned producer. He begins on July 1 and also joins the Zodiak Nederland management team.

Lentjes was most recently international format distribution manager at Endemol Shine, but left a few months back, according to a spokesperson. He has also worked as editor-in-chief and head creative at RTL Productions in Europe.

His appointment comes more than a year after Jan Hendrik Smeenge replaced Peter Lubbers as Zodiak Nederland CEO. This preceded Zodiak Media merging with Banijay, which created the world’s third-largest independent production group.

“I am really looking forward to working together with Jan Hendrik Smeenge and his team of passionate professionals to develop, adapt and execute a score of fresh titles in the Netherlands,” said Lentjes.

“Being part of the Banijay Group brings the perfect environment to do so, and allows us to further build on our strong position in the Dutch market.”

“Remco is a highly acclaimed media professional in both our territory and internationally, with an impressive track record as an all-round producer, executive and creative,” said Smeenge.

Zodiak Nederland was formerly known as Palm Plus. It has been part of the Zodiak stable since 2008, and produces local versions of MasterChef, Embarrassing Bodies and Celebrity Wife Swap, plus other shows such as Well Sick, The Optimist and Legal Road Show for Dutch pubcaster sans commercial networks.