Appointments round-up: UK’s Pact names chair; Onza reveals Europe, Canada sales chief; Gascue exits Calinos

Jane Muirhead

UK’s Pact names chair

UK trade body Pact has named Raise The Roof Productions’ Jane Muirhead as its chair for the next two years, replacing 60Forty Films’ Hakan Kousetta.

Muirhead, who was uncontested as chair during the recent Pact Council elections, is co-founder and MD of Glasgow-based Raise the Roof, which is behind shows including Kirstie And Phil’s Love it Or List it.

Additionally, Pact has named the 11 members who have been elected to its Council for the same period.

They are:

Emyr Afan, Afanti Media Ltd, elected uncontested as National Representative for Wales
Kate Beal, Woodcut Media – newly elected
Tom Brisley, Arrow Media – newly elected
James Burstall, Argonon – newly elected
Alistair Davis, Mentorn – newly elected
Emma-Rosa Dias, Afro-Mic Productions – newly elected
Alex Jones, Red Planet Pictures – re-elected
Jane Kelly, Big Mountain Productions, elected uncontested as National Representative for Northern Ireland
Jacqueline Moreton, Fremantle – re-elected
Claire Mundell, Synchronicity Films – re-elected and also newly elected as National Representative for Scotland
Sue Vertue, Hartswood Films – re-elected

Pact chief executive, John McVay, said: “Hakan was instrumental in the creation and success of the Government’s Film and TV Production Restart Scheme, which enabled indies to get back to work during the pandemic and has led Pact Council through the rocky post-pandemic years.

“And welcome to Jane and the new Pact Council with whom I look forward to working with to navigate the uncertainty the industry faces over the next few years.”

Muirhead added: “Having been a member of Pact Council in various roles for over a decade now, I am a strong advocate of the work that Pact does to help both existing and new indies navigate domestic and global markets and grow their businesses. To deliver on our shared values it’s imperative we have a robust, sustainable sector across the whole of the UK that speaks with a united voice.”

The elected Council members will serve a two-year term, running from January 2023 to December 2024.

Onza reveals Europe, Canada sales chief

El Ministerio Del Tiempo firm Onza Distribution has named former Lagardère Studios and Mediapro exec Béatrice Nouh as its head of sales for Europe and Canada.

Nouh has worked in sales for more than a decade, including Lagardère Studios Distribution and The Mediapro Studio Distribution. She also founded boutique distributor Bubble Media.

Carlos Garde, MD of Onza Distribution, said Nouh would “be responsible for adding new content to our catalogue and driving its international growth.”

Gascue exits Calinos

José Luis Gascue has stepped down from his role as EVP of international sales at global distributor, Calinos Entertainment.

Gascue had joined Calinos in early 2020 and worked across sales of Turkish drama including Forbidden Fruit and Woman.

Prior to that, Gascue had been VP of sales for 20th Century Fox across Latin America, before it was acquired by Disney.