Fremantle poaches CFO from BBC Worldwide

FremantleMedia has hired Andrew Bott as its new CFO, with the new-recruit joining from BBC Worldwide.

Bott is still serving as CFO of Worldwide, the commercial arm of the UK public broadcaster, ahead of joining FremantleMedia in 2016.

Prior to his CFO role at Worldwide, he was across finance at the company’s US operations. Before that he was at Pearson and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

At Fremantle he will be based in London and report directly to CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz. He will oversee all financial affairs including any M&A activity. Bott will also be on the RTL-owned producer and distributor’s board.

FremantleMedia hired Sangeeta Desai as COO and CFO in 2013. She has since transitioned to a COO and CEO of mmerging markets role.

Speaking about Bott’s hire, Frot-Coutaz said: “Andrew has a long and proven track-record in delivering outstanding results, driving high-performance and optimising efficiency within global media businesses. He combines strong financial and strategic decision-making with a collaborative approach to deliver successful new businesses and develop exciting new partnerships.”

Bott added: “FremantleMedia has some exciting plans to further its strategic ambitions, and I look forward to applying my experience of building efficient and effective businesses to help optimise their value and impact.”

Last year FremantleMedia poached Robin Chalmers as its legal chief from BBC Worldwide, and earlier this year it hired Jennifer Barrett from Worldwide as senior VP, legal and business affairs.