Keren Shahar has been confirmed as the new CEO of Keshet International (KI), replacing Alon Shtruzman, who leaves the global content producer and distributor at the end of this year.
Currently COO and president of distribution, Shahar will take over January 1, 2023. Keshet announced the departure of Shtruzman, after a decade at the helm of KI, in September.
Shahar has been responsible for the distribution of many of Keshet’s scripted formats, such as Prisoners of War, which became Showtime hit Homeland and False Flag and When Heroes Fly, which have recently been adapted as Suspicion and Echo 3 for Apple TV+ by Keshet UK and Keshet Studios respectively.
As KI’s CEO, Shahar will be responsible for all the company’s activities, including its network of production companies and distribution hubs - KI in Tel Aviv, Keshet UK, Tresor and Keshet Tresor Fiction in Germany, Keshet Studios in the US, and a majority stake in Greenbird Media.
She will be tasked with expanding KI’s international production output further, while also boosting its catalogue of international dramas, factual entertainment shows, and formats with a view to also building the distribution side of KI’s business.
KI has seen a long list of its series and formats picked up by television networks such as HBO, NBC and the BBC, as well as streaming platforms including Netflix, Apple TV, Disney+, and Amazon Prime, during its first decade in operation.
Shahar first joined Keshet Media Group, Israel’s largest media company, in 2004. In 2006, she was appointed Keshet formats manager, overseeing the sales of Keshet’s formats abroad. Two years later in 2008, she took on responsibility for Keshet Broadcasting’s acquisitions department.
When Shtruzman joined as CEO of the newly established KI in 2012, Shahar was appointed to lead the company’s sales team, and after a brief time, also stepped up to take on the role of COO.
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