Mediawan Group relocates distribution unit to London and appointed Sally Habbershaw

Mediawan Group relocated its distribution leadership to London with the appointment of Sally Habbershaw as Chief Distribution Officer, marking a new pivotal milestone in the company’s ambitions and international expansion. Valérie Vleeschhouwer, CEO of Mediawan Rights, will support the implementation of this new organization and work alongside Sally Habbershaw throughout a transition period, ahead of her departure from the Group. Valérie Vleeschhouwer has played a key role in the Group’s growth since 2017, particularly in the integration of Lagardère Studios’ distribution activities in 2020 and LEONINE Studios in 2024, following a successful 20-year tenure as Deputy Managing Director at AB Group.

In this newly created London-based role, Sally Habbershaw will lead Mediawan’s international sales activities and be responsible for the Group’s global content sales and acquisitions strategy. She will oversee worldwide distribution, formats, scripted and unscripted sales across all of Mediawan's 80 production companies, operating in 14 countries, including award-winning Plan B Entertainment (US/UK), See-Saw Films (UK/Australia), Drama Republic and Misfits (UK), Palomar and Our Films (Italy), LEONINE Studios (Germany), Boomerang and Good Mood (Spain), Submarine (Netherlands/US), Chapter 2 and Chi-Fou-Mi (France). This new organization will accelerate Mediawan's global plans to build its premium English-speaking content pipeline and global partnerships. To champion this strategy, Sally Habbershaw will be supported by Mediawan’s sales teams based in France and Germany, with further key appointments to be announced soon.

"As we open a new chapter in Mediawan’s international expansion by relocating our distribution leadership to London, I am thrilled to welcome Sally Habbershaw to the Group, reporting to Elisabeth d’Arvieu, CEO of Mediawan Pictures. Her expertise and vision will be essential through this new phase of Mediawan’s global development. I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Valérie Vleeschhouwer, whose exceptional leadership and dedication have been instrumental since the very first day at Mediawan. With over 30 years of experience, Valérie’s remarkable contribution has shaped our distribution activities, fostered privileged relationships with producers and external talents, and skillfully guided our adaptation to market evolutions. We are deeply grateful for her commitment throughout Mediawan’s development, growth, and internationalization," Pierre-Antoine Capton, Chairman and co-founder of Mediawan Group, said.

Sally Habbershaw was most recently EVP of the Americas for All3Media International. She was responsible for maximizing the exploitation of content across the region, particularly driving the global-facing co-production strategy. Key deals were David Attenborough's "Ocean" with Nat Geo, Two Brothers tentpoles "The Tourist" (HBO/Netflix), "Liar" (AMC) and "Back to Life" (Showtime/Paramount), New Pictures "Long Shadow" (AMC), "The Forge's 'National Treasure" (Hulu), Playgrounds "All Creatures Great and Small" (Masterpiece), Russell T Davies "It's a Sin" (HBO Max) and Snowed In "Joan" (The CW). She also oversaw key format territory deals, including "Traitors" in Latin America (NBC) and Canada (Bell Media), as well as "Doc Martin" (Fox). Previously, she served as VP of International Programming, Operations, and Research at A&E Networks. Sally worked in programming at NBC Europe and was Head of Programming at Comedy Central in London before becoming VP & General Manager of VH1 UK. In 2004, Sally moved to New York to become Director of Development at VH1, leaving to move to Gawker Media. She then transitioned to AMC Networks to be VP of Global Acquisitions and Scheduling.