Carsten Schmidt, chief officer of sports, advertising sales and internet at Sky Deutschland, will replace Brian Sullivan as chief executive of the German pay-television broadcaster, it was announced today (Thursday).
Sullivan will step down as Sky Deutschland chief executive on June 24 in order to return to the United States. Schmidt takes on the new role of deputy chief executive with immediate effect and will work alongside Sullivan over the coming months before taking over as chief executive.
Schmidt has served on Sky Deutschland’s management board since 2006, after initially joining the company in 1999. In his current position, Schmidt’s responsibilities have included sports programming and rights acquisition, online activities and advertising sales.
Jeremy Darroch, group chief executive of Sky and chairman of Sky Deutschland’s supervisory board, said: “We are delighted to appoint such an experienced and capable executive from within the existing leadership team. Carsten has played a central role in the transformation of Sky in Germany, building a strong business in premium sport with a deserved reputation for outstanding quality and innovation. With the support of an excellent team, he will lead the next phase of Sky’s growth as it continues to execute on a well-established and successful strategy.”
Prior to joining Sky Deutschland, Schmidt served as managing director of sports production company Wige Media, where he was in charge of the marketing and television division for four years.