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BBC Studios consolidates APAC and EMEA regions, Jon Penn steps down

Nick Percy.

BBC Studios has announced the consolidation of its Asia Pacific (APAC) and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) distribution regions into a unified business, Global Markets, to be led by Nick Percy.

Jon Penn, the current EVP of APAC, ruled himself out of applying for the leadership role, but will remain with the company next year to work on central projects, as well as helping with the transition.

Percy has led the EMEA region since April 2020, having held a number of roles in BBC Studios since 2010, prior to which he worked for government and commercial companies, including McKinsey & Company and Diageo.

He brings experience within the APAC region to the role, having previously lived in Australia and worked on projects in Asia.

Speaking about his new position, he said he understood the value of merging the two regions into one team with oversight of the whole business.

“There will be many benefits, as well as trade-offs to be made, over the next few years, as we invest in our branded services, balance our global and regional deals, offer more in direct-to-consumer and ramp up our digital deals,” he said.

“I’m delighted to be working with the six regional SVPs and GMs and their local teams to accelerate our growth.”

Jon Penn.

Penn paid tribute to the APAC team while looking ahead to the next steps in his career.

“I’ve loved my time leading the APAC region and before that, setting up and growing the ANZ regional business,” he said.

“I’ve been fortunate to work with such an incredible brand, team and customer base as we have ridden the wave of digital transformation in the content industry.

“It’s been a part of my career that I’m very proud of, but now I’m ready for my next challenge and can do this in the knowledge that the business and team is in very safe hands.”

Percy and Penn will continue to lead EMEA and APAC until the new Global Markets region comes into effect on January 31.

Regional commercial leads Phil Hardman (GM and SVP Asia), Natasha Hussain (SVP MENA), Ding Ke (GM Greater China), Fiona Lang (GM ANZ), Salim Mukaddam (SVP Content Sales Markets EMEA), and Arran Tindall (SVP Key Markets EMEA) will report to Percy, who will be based in the UK.

BBC Studios global distribution president Paul Dempsey thanked both Percy and Penn for their contributions to the business so far.

“Nick is a strategic and talented leader who understands the complexities of the Global Markets regions and the focus for BBC Studios moving forward,” he said.

“I’m pleased that he is going to be leading the team through the next stage of our transformation. 

“I’m grateful to Jon for his excellent leadership of the APAC region and before that the ANZ region, which saw the launch of BBC First, BBC Earth, Britbox, and a production arm in Australia, achieved significant new carriage deals, saw the growth of Bluey into a huge international brand and closed multi-million dollar framework deals in China.”