Ignatiew, Pabst succeed Richter at Red Arrow International

Irina Ignatiew and Henrik Pabst have been named co-managing directors of distributor Red Arrow International to succeed Jens Richter.

The pair will take over in December, when Richter moves to become CEO of FremantleMedia International. Ignatiew will oversee scripted programming, and Pabst will lead format and factual distribution.

Both were co-deputy managing directors at Red Arrow International, which sells series such as Lilyhammer and Jo, before their promotions.

Ignatiew joined the vendor early last year as senior VP for sales in German and French-speaking territories, and was previously executive VP, Telepool; head of international distribution at Tandem Communications; and worked in sales for Lionsgate.

Pabst joined the sales arm of ProSiebenSat.1-owned Red Arrow in 2011 as senior VP sales for the UK, Scandinavia, Benelux and formats; and was previously VP, entertainment and business development in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Benelux for IMG Media.

Both were promoted to deputy managing directors of Red Arrow International last month.

They will report to the managing director of parent company Red Arrow Entertainment Group, Jan Frouman, who said: “Irina and Henrik are outstanding and experienced distribution professionals. Under their future leadership, the company will continue to grow and thrive.”

The outgoing Richter is headed to FremantleMedia International in December. He had led Red Arrow International since its inception in 2010, and prior to that was managing director of its predecessor, SevenOne International.

Frouman said today of his departure: “It’s never easy to say goodbye to an executive as capable and accomplished as Jens Richter. He built Red Arrow International and has been with Red Arrow Entertainment Group from the start. But, to his credit, he also assembled a stellar team and enabled us to find his successors from within.”