Keren Shahar, CEO of Keshet International, has promoted Dor, Wright and Ben-Dror.
Israeli producer and distributor Keshet International (KI) has promoted three senior executives to its global leadership team.
All three will report to Keren Shahar, Keshet’s new CEO, who took over the role from Alon Shrutzman at the start of this year.
Saar Dor has been upped to chief operating officer, Kelly Wright to managing director of distribution and Gadi Ben-Dror to general counsel.
In her first move as CEO, Shahar has named Chief Finance Officer Saar Dor to be her second-in-command, passing on the mantle of Chief Operating Officer to him. As the newly appointed COO, Dor will take on responsibility for all business and operational aspects relating to the international company’s activities from Shahar, while continuing with his current day-to-day responsibilities as CFO. Dor first joined KMG in 2013 as Financial Controller from accountancy firm EY, before being appointed KI’s CFO in 2019. During this time, Dor has been instrumental in enabling KI to expand its production interests across Europe through various acquisitions, as well as successfully bringing to screen international dramas such as Our Boys (HBO), Echo 3 and Suspicion (both Apple TV+).
Stepping up to backfill the second role vacated by Shahar is Kelly Wright, who is being promoted from her current role as SVP of Distribution and New Business to the newly created position of Managing Director of Distribution. In addition to leading KI’s sales team, Wright will also scale-up her regular managerial responsibilities to become a member of KI’s global leadership team. Since joining KI as a Sales Director in 2013, and then stepping up to become Shahar’s deputy in 2018, Wright has played an integral role in driving forward KI’s distribution strategy and expanding its operations around the world, with a particular focus on the LatAm and Asia-Pacific regions.
Ben-Dror joined KI in 2017 as legal counsel having worked at various leading Israeli law firms, focusing his practice on technology, license, and cross-border M&A transaction.
Speaking about the promotions, Keren Shahar said: “I am thrilled to be able to acknowledge Saar, Kelly and Gadi’s hard work and dedication to Keshet International during the time we’ve already worked together with these three well-deserved promotions. They are all ambitious and driven individuals, who thrive when pushed to think outside the box and inspire others to do the same. I am honoured to have them as part of KI’s global leadership team and looking forward to working more closely with them both to continue our expansion in our existing businesses as well as new arenas as we enter our second decade.”
With the support of her global leadership team, CEO Shahar is responsible for overseeing all KI’s activities, including its network of production companies and distribution hubs – its headquarters in Tel Aviv; Keshet UK; Tresor and Keshet Tresor Fiction in Germany; Keshet Studios in the US; and a majority stake in Greenbird Media.
