Paramount’s international president and CEO Raffaele Annecchino has exited the company.
He will be replaced by a trio of interim heads: JC Acosta, Maria Kyriacou, and Mark Specht.
The circumstances under which he has left the company were not immediately clear.
Annecchino had worked at Viacom (later ViacomCBS and now Paramount) for over 25 years as part of the company’s international team.
In December 2020, he was appointed as president and CEO of ViacomCBS Networks International, succeeding David Lynn.
In his role, Annecchino oversaw all of ViacomCBS’ media networks and related businesses outside the US, including remits across six continents.
Paramount owns CBS, MTV, BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Showtime, as well as UK free-to-air broadcaster Channel 5, among other properties.
In a statement, a Paramount spokesperson said: “Effective today, Raffaele Annecchino, president, Paramount international studios, networks and streaming, is on leave from the company. JC Acosta, president, international studios, streaming & networks for Southern Europe, Latin America, Middle East & Africa; Maria Kyriacou, president, Australia, Canada, Israel and UK, and Mark Specht, EVP and managing director, Central & Northern Europe and Asia, will be stepping in as interim heads to lead the international business.“
Editor’s note (10am): This article has been updated after publication to reflect a statement from Paramount.
