Desai has served as a non-executive director on the OSN Board for over a year and will move into her new role with immediate effect.
Patrick Tillieux, who served as CEO of OSN since December 2018, has stepped down from his role citing personal reasons, BroadcastPro ME can reveal. Faisal Al Ayyar, Chairman of OSN (Panther Media Group Ltd) has announced that Sangeeta Desai will serve as Interim CEO, effective immediately.
Desai has served as a non-executive director on the Board for over a year.
Speaking about Desai, Al Ayyar said: “The Board is delighted that Sangeeta has accepted the position of Interim CEO, which will increase her involvement with OSN as she works towards the Board’s vision for the Company as a leading entertainment hub in the region. Sangeeta has a proven track record in successfully leading large-scale company transformations, scaling businesses, navigating disruption, and growing global brands. She brings with her a unique combination of strategic, operational, and financial expertise, having led global media businesses for over a decade bolstered by an early career in private equity and investment banking.”
Most recently, Desai was Group COO and CEO of Emerging Markets at Fremantle, and prior to that, she was COO of Hit Entertainment. She started her career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan before becoming a private equity investor at Apax Partners. Sangeeta holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Desai said: “For more than 20 years, OSN has established itself as a household name and market leader in the entertainment sector. As a member of the Board, I have been privileged to witness the new heights scaled by OSN in the last 12 months. It is an honour to be selected as Interim CEO and I look forward to working with the team, as well as continuing to strengthen OSN’s position as a premier entertainment provider through the implementation of leading technology, innovation and programming.”
Under Tillieux’ leadership, OSN’s staff was trimmed to half its workforce, a special deal was struck with Disney to bring its digital assets to the OSN Streaming service and a brand-new agile OTT platform was launched.
