Acun Medya taps int’l head from Simon Cowell banner

Acun Medya Global has hired Syco Entertainment’s head of international, George Levendis (pictured), as its chief operations officer.

Levendis has been with Syco, the Simon Cowell joint venture with Sony, since January 2011. He oversaw all aspects of its international operations including the expansion of 50 versions of Got Talent and X Factor formats globally.

In the past, Levendis has also worked with Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Antenna TV Greece. He was the judge in three seasons of the Greek version of The X Factor in the early 2000’s.

Levendis said: “I am very excited to be joining Acun Medya Global, an innovative, forward thinking media business with ambitions to expand globally across the television, sports, digital and entertainment business.

“Turkey is currently the fastest growing exporter of content globally, and Acun Medya is a key part of this trend. The company is made up of smart, media savvy and dynamic executives and I want to thank Acun and CEO Ebru Atasav for this opportunity”.

Acun Medya Global founder and owner, Acun Ilıcalı said: “We are very excited and happy to welcome George to the Acun Medya team. Since we started this company, we always aimed for growth, creativity and innovation, without losing our family spirit.

“We believe George’s background and global expertise will help us greatly on this path, which will be further enhanced by his ideas and enthusiasm as part of the Acun Medya team.”