FRAPA rejigs & names former SPT exec as new MD

Eric Kafoe

The Format Recognition and Protection Association (FRAPA) has rejigged its senior management, with former Sony Picture Television (SPT) exec Eric Kafoe named MD.

Kafoe joined FRAPA in 2020 to manage events, communications and marketing, having spent two decades in the format business including a stint as SPT’s director of unscripted format acquisitions.

FRAPA administrator Bianca Rootsaert will now take on the role of general manager, responsible for compliance, governance, and legal and regulatory issues.

Jan Salling, FRAPA’s co-chair & head of BBC Studios Nordics Productions, said: “As a well-liked, respected and experienced TV-industry professional, Eric’s the perfect person to steer FRAPA into the future.

“Thanks to market fragmentation, consolidation and digital disruption, the global format industry’s terms of trade are changing almost by the week. The board, all of whom have busy day jobs, realised that we needed a dedicated TV-industry insider to help us navigate these challenges and keep FRAPA relevant and influential. Erik ticks all the boxes.”

FRAPA added that its growing membership, which includes firms including BBC Studios, ITV Studios and KOCCA (Korea Creative Content Agency), meant that its “back-office admin” is becoming increasingly complex, something that Rootsaert’s new role would oversee.

Phil Gurin, the org’s co-chair, added: “It’s also increasingly important, as an organisation that operates in the grey zone of IP protection, that FRAPA’s compliance is beyond reproach. This is Bianca’s forté — nobody knows better what a not-for-profit can and can’t do. With Eric’s understanding of the TV industry and Bianca’s legal expertise, FRAPA has all the in-house skills it needs to move up to the next level.”