O'Donoghue Appointed ITV Studios MD

The co-founder and former Joint Managing Director of Hat Trick Productions, Denise O'Donoghue, is joining ITV as Managing Director of ITV Studios UK.
Ms O'Donoghue will lead ITV Studios' UK commercial strategy and will be specifically tasked with identifying and exploiting new opportunities to lead the growth of the business in the UK.
The newly created role, under Kevin Lygo, Managing Director, ITV Studios, will see O'Donoghue take full operational responsibility for production management, rights management and business affairs. She will also work closely with the creative teams to fully exploit new opportunities.
In August, ITV Chief Executive Adam Crozier unveiled the company's Transformation Plan which highlighted as one of the key objectives creating a world class global content business, the foundation of which is the creative renewal of ITV Studios in the UK.
Adam Crozier said: "A key part of our five year strategy is to build a stronger content business and to develop the relationship between ITV Studios and our broadcast business. Denise has a fantastic track record as an entrepreneur creating great content and commercial value. She and Kevin Lygo will make a formidable team, spearheading the development of ITV Studios."
Kevin Lygo said: "Denise has the rare talent and experience which spans both the creative and commercial sides of the business and it's testament to the growing excitement about ITV Studios' future that an executive of Denise's calibre is joining my team. Her vision, energy, impressive skills and relationships with top talent across all areas of the industry will be a huge asset to ITV Studios as we grow the business."
The new executive, Denise O'Donoghue added: "I'm delighted to be joining ITV Studios just as the business prepares for the next stage of its growth.
"ITV Studios has an unrivalled heritage in commercial production in the UK and I'm looking forward to working with Kevin to shape the UK strategy to position the business for the future."
As Co-Founder of Hat Trick productions O'Donoghue was most recently Joint Managing Director. She is credited with establishing the production company's position in the UK and US working across all areas of the business from ideas generation through to content exploitation.
(KMcA/BMcC)