Commissioning Editors

Betsy LeBlanc
Senior Sales Manager
PBS International

Betsy LeBlanc is the Senior Sales Manager of PBS International and has more than 16 years of broadcast marketing and sales experience. LeBlanc helped to launch the division originally known as WGBH International, the worldwide co-production and distribution division of WGBH-TV, 11 years ago and has...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

David Royle
Executive Vice President, Programming & Production
Smithsonian Networks

David Royle is Smithsonian Networks' EVP, Programming and Production. In that role, Royle oversees the commissioning, acquiring and co-producing of series, specials and features for the Networks. Royle joined Smithsonian Networks to bring a distinctive and creative point-of-view to the Networks' edi...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Stephen Hunter
Senior Executive Producer
NGCI

As Senior Executive Producer for NGCI, Stephen Hunter is responsible for executive producing some 100 hours of original programming per year - programming that goes across 164 countries worldwide. These hours run across the whole vista of National Geographic's core areas including natural history, adventure, science and world cultures. Stephen has played an instrumental role executive producing series such as Air Crash Investigation and I Didn't Know That and the Python Attack episode of Dangerous Encounters with Brady Barr. In edition to these editorial duties, Hunter also takes the lead in developing key series and specials for the channels.

Prior to joining NGCI, Hunter was Vice President of Production for Cineflix in Toronto, Canada. There he helped develop a number of hit series including Trapped, Mayday: Crash Scene Investigations, Final 24, True CSI, and developed and co-executive produced the award-winning, two-hour doc drama, Jonestown: Paradise Lost. Before that he was Vice President and Head of Development for CineNova Productions. He was also producer, director/writer on two Emmy-nominated documentaries: In the Wrong Body and Growing Up Old.

Hunter began his TV career as a presenter and producer for Current Affairs at the CBC. Prior to that he put his degrees in Philosophy from Princeton and Cambridge Universities to excellent use by being a professional actor in New York City, Los Angeles and London.

National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) invites viewers to re-think the way they see television - and the world - with smart, innovative programming. A business enterprise owned by National Geographic Television (NGT) and FOX Entertainment Group, NGCI contributes to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education.

Globally, National Geographic Channel (including NGC U.S. which is a joint venture of NGT and Fox Cable Networks Group) is available in over 250 million homes (including day-part households) in 166 countries and 34 languages.

[ Minimize ]

Jeff Bieber
Vice President & Executive Producer
WETA

With over eleven years in senior management, Bieber is responsible for program development, marketing and project management of national primetime series' on PBS. He is a winner of two national EMMY Awards, a George Foster Peabody Award, Columbia-DuPont Award for Journalism, seven CINE Golden Eagles, and many other honors. Projects includes: THE JEWISH AMERICANS (2008), a six-hour primetime series produced with WNET, JTN Productions and David Grubin Productions. THE MYSTERIOUS HUMAN HEART (2008) � a 3-hour series produced with David Grubin Productions and WNET. AMERICA AT A CROSSROADS (2007) - a twelve-hour, six-night primetime series about the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and a post-9/11 world. MY JOURNEY HOME (2004) � a two-hour documentary focusing on issues of diversity and the American identity; ROUGH SCIENCE (2002/2004) � Co-produced with the BBC & Open University. Reality series featured scientists faced with scientific challenges; AVOIDING ARMAGEDDON (2003) � 8-hour series about weapons of mass destruction. Produced with Ted Turner Documentaries. THE LATINO AMERICANS (2011) chronicling Latinos in the United States from 1800 to the present day. THE ITALIAN AMERCIANS (2011) stories of Italian American families from the late 19th century.

Prior to his job as a project executive, Bieber was a producer, director and writer for local and national documentaries, news magazines, studio productions, hearings on Capitol Hill and live multi-camera concerts. Highlights include the production of live performance specials at The Kennedy Center and at the U.S. Capitol on July 4th and Memorial Day; documentaries on healthcare, the environment, the creation of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; hearings on WACO, Whitewater and the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court; news analysis and business programs.

Prior to his television career,
Bieber was a classical clarinetist with The Kennedy Center Orchestra, performing with The American Ballet Theatre, New York City Opera, and other arts organizations. Jeff Bieber currently teaches a graduate course at Georgetown University in Communications and Social Change utilizing public engagement and communications strategies. Students learn theory while creating actual public media campaigns.

[ Minimize ]

Dirk Neuhoff
Head of Documentaries
NDR

- 1993 Various Jobs as Reporter and Editor Radio
1993 - 1997 Editor-in-Chief NDR 2 (Radiostation)
1997 - 2000 Editor "Extra 3" (Satirical TV-Show)
2000 - 2004 Duty Editor Current Affairs (NDR TV)
2004 - 2007 Chief of Staff to Programme Director
2007 - H...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Mary Donahue
Vice President, Development & Programming
History

Mary Donahue is Vice President, Development and Programming for History, a position she assumed in September 2010.

A veteran cable television executive, Mary Donahue joined HISTORY in October 2008 and was part of the team that developed and launched the break out hit series, Pawn Star...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Ralf Peter Piechowiak
Senior Commissioning Editor
ZDF

Ralf-Peter Piechowiak is Executive Producer and Senior Commissioning Editor for ZDF German Television Network, Europe's largest public TV company. Mr. Piechowiak has a distinguished nearly 30-year career at ZDF's Department of Contemporary History. He has developed, written, produced, launched or se...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Melanie Wallace
Senior Series Producer
NOVA/WGBH TV

Since 1998, Melanie Wallace has been the Senior Series Producer for NOVA, the longest running, most successful science series on American television, now in its 36th season. She is connected to all aspects of production: Searching for new talent, innovative program ideas, and co-production opportun...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Daniela Bagliani
Documentary Acquisitions & Co-Productions Manager
RTI SpA-Mediaset Group

Daniela Bagliani is the Documentary Acquisitions and Co-productions Manager of RTI SpA - Mediaset Group, the largest commercial network in Italy with more than 43% of the general share in the free television market. She is responsible for acquisition, pre-acquisition and co-production activity, from...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Mauro Fabbricotti
Factual and Documentary Acquisitions Executive
RTI SpA-Mediaset Group

Mauro Fabbricotti is the Factual and Documentary Acquisitions and Co-productions Executive of RTI SpA - Mediaset Group, the largest commercial network in Italy. He is in charge of factual acquisition, pre-acquisition and co-production activity, from selection and negotiation until channel usage. He ...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Julia Harrington
Commissioning Editor
Channel 4

Julia Harrington is Commissioning Editor for History at Channel 4, where she is responsible for a diverse and innovative range of programmes. She joined Channel 4 in 2008, following a stint as factual commissioner at channel five. Previously she was a freelance film maker, known for making some of C...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Kristina Hollstein
Director Documentary Co-Prodcutions
ZDF

Kristina Hollstein (born on 22 November 1965) studied information sciences and economics in Saarbrücken, Paris and Spain, and obtained her doctoral degree with a thesis on film financing and funding in Germany and France. In 1988 she began working for an independent film production and distribu...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Christine Lee
Acquistions Programmer
TVO

Christine Lee has nine years of experience as a programmer at TVO, Ontario�s public educational media organization. She is responsible for acquisitions and pre-buys in several areas of the prime time schedule including history and science, as well as programming environmental and social issue stran...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Nikolas Hulbusch
Commissioning Editor
ZDF Enterprises

Born in Mainz in 1968, Nikolas Hulbusch made his Theatre, Film and TV studies, and Slavic studies, at Bochum and Katowice (Poland) Universities from 1989 to 1995. He published several articles on documentary and feature film history as well as two books, one about
Polish documentaries of the...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Charles Schuerhoff
Commissioning Editor
PBS International

Charles Schuerhoff has had more than 30 years experience in the field of international program marketing. He founded the distribution office of WGBH TV/Boston, and later headed CS Associates, a documentary specialist. In 2006 the CSA catalogue was acquired by WGBH International, and he joined them a...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Katja Wildermuth
Head of Documentaries
MDR Television

Dr. Katja Wildermuth is Head of Documentaries in the editorial office "History and Society" at MDR Television in Leipzig, Germany. She is responsible for historical documentaries, docu-dramas, contemporary feature length documentaries for MDR, ARD and arte. She is also responsible for inte...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Ann Julienne
Head of International Development
France Televisions

Ann Julienne entered the television industry in 1985 when she joined French indie producer/distributor Télé Images. In 1994, Ann was recruited as a member of the start up team at La Cinquième, France's first public educational and knowledge channel. Now known as France 5, it is...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Bill Locke
Head of History & Special Projects
Lion Television

Bill has been at Lion Television for ten years. During that time he�s made shows on everything from the birth of Athenian Democracy to the Eurovision Song Contest. Now, as head of History and Special Projects, Bill focuses on historic subjects and also observational series for broadcasters all ove...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Adam Block
Senior Vice President
Off the Fence America, LLC

Adam Block is the Senior Vice President of Off The Fence America, LLC - the North American subsidiary of Dutch-based independent specialist factual distributor Off The Fence. Adam is responsible for strategic planning, finished program sales, pre-sales, acquisitions and daily operations. In his ...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Dr. Ulrich Brochhagen
Commissioning Editor
MRD/ARD TV

Ulrich Brochhagen was born 1961 and studied history and political science at the universities of Cologne and Munich. He received a Master of Arts in 1989 followed by a PhD. In 1993 he joined MDR/ARD-TV as a director and reporter for documentaries and news magazines. Since 1997 he has been head of do...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Michael Katz
Vice President, Programming & Production, International Division
A&E Television Networks

Michael E. Katz is Vice President, Programming and Production, International Division, A&E Television Networks. In his present role, Mr. Katz leads the international programming and production activities for A&E Television Networks, including working with worldwide partners to provide creati...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Laura Fleury
Vice President, Non Fiction & Alternative Programming
A&E/Bio

Laura Fleury is Vice President of Non-Fiction and Alternative Programming at A&E Network. In this position, she plays a senior role in the development and production of nonfiction series and specials for A&E, BIO Channel and Crime & Investigation Network. She has developed, launched and currently serves as Executive Producer for many of A&E's most critically-acclaimed and top-rated series including THE FIRST 48, BEYOND SCARED STRAIGHT (highest-rated series launch in network history), THE FIRST 48: MISSING PERSONS, MANHUNTERS: FUGITIVE TASK FORCE�, and PARKING WARS. She is currently developing and overseeing several new projects for launch in 2012 and beyond. She also has developed and executive-produced series for The BIO Channel, including I SURVIVED.. which launched as the #1 series in the history of the BIO Channel. She has also developed and produced numerous other series and specials for AETN including RUNAWAY SQUAD, CRIME 360�, THE SQUAD: PRISON POLICE and THE INTERROGATORS.

In her previous roles as Senior Director, and prior to that, Director, Documentary Programming at A&E Network, she developed, launched and executive-produced several documentary series and specials to ratings and critical acclaim including 2-time Emmy-nominated Cold Case Files�, SWAT, Minute-by-Minute, American Justice, Parole Board, Investigative Reports, Makeover Mamas, The Real Story, The Point and The Hunt. Awards include the Thurgood Marshall Journalism Award in 2002, and numerous Emmy nominations. Prior to that, Ms. Fleury served as a Supervising Producer for a number of A&E's documentary specials and series, including A&E's very first 'real-life series', LA Detectives, as well as Biography®, The New Explorers, Sea Tales, Treasure!, The Unexplained, Inside Story, The Planets and One-on-One with David Frost among others. Prior to joining A&E, Ms. Fleury worked in independent film production on scripted and unscripted films, including the award-winning documentaries BROTHER�S KEEPER and PARADISE LOST. She is a 2008-2009 graduate of WICT�s (Women in Cable and Telecommunications) prestigious Betsy Magness Leadership Institute Class 18.

[ Minimize ]

Winona Meringolo
Director of Development
Investigation Discovery and Military Channel

Winona Meringolo is currently the Director of Development for Investigation Discovery and Military Channel; she is responsible for conceptualizing original series and specials, as well as acquiring completed specials and films. Prior to joining ID and MIL, she was the Manager of Development for TLC...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Andrew Johnson
Production Executive, Factual Content
Shaw Media

Andrew Johnson is a Production Executive in Shaw Media's Original Factual Content group which develops & commissions factual, reality, format and documentary programming for three Shaw channels in Canada: History Television, TvTropolis and Global Television. Previously, he was Commissioning Edi...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Atsushi Ogaki
Executive Producer & Senior Manager of Program Production
NHK Osaka

Ogaki joined NHK in 1986 as a TV program director and producer. With a focus on cultural programs and documentaries, his productions include "IT Nation" a series that portrayed internet giants in the software industry like Microsoft and Nintendo, etc., "Portrait of Artistic Genius: Ka...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Beate Schlanstein
Head of History/Contemporary History & Deputy Head of Documentary/Society
WDR

Beate Schlanstein is Head of History/Contemporary History and Deputy Head of Documentary/Society at WDR German Television, a federal public TV channel based in Cologne. She has been program editor and commissioning editor since 1990. She has supervised hundreds of documentaries, among them many awar...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Michael Claydon
Area Executive Prodcuer
CBC

Michael is the Area Executive Producer of Independent Documentaries at CBC Television and Newsworld and is responsible for overseeing and coordinating all independent documentary production for English television.

Michael is a two-time Gemini Award winning documentary producer
...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Sarah Jane Flynn
Senior Director of Original Factual Content
Shaw Media

Sarah Jane Flynn is the Senior Director of Original Factual Content for Shaw Media. She oversees unscripted originals on Global, History Television and TVtropolis. She�s worked on a diverse range on programming including doc series like Greatest Tank Battles and Ice Pilots NWT as well as reality p...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Louise Rosen
CEO
Louise Rosen Ltd.

Louise Rosen specializes in international pre-sales and co-productions on behalf of independent non-fiction producers. She also provides consulting services to advise filmmakers and production companies on finance, development, production, marketing and distribution strategies. Since starting in 199...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Tomoko Okutsu
Producer, International Co-Production/Acquistions
NHK

Okutsu started working for NHK in 1992 as a TV director. She has directed live shows, news magazine shows and documentaries mainly in the field of current affairs. Okutsu was an establishing member of a new style news magazine show "TsunagaruTV@human (ConnectingTV@human)" in 2006. The sh...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

JC Mills
Director of Development
National Geographic Channels

Before joining National Geographic Channel, J.C. Mills was the VP of Business Development & Acquisitions, North America, for Zodiak Rights. Zodiak Rights is the global distributor for Zodiak Media Group as well as many 3rd party producers. In this role, he was responsible for acquiring U.S. &am...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

Keith Farrell
Raising The Titanic
Writer/Director/Co-Producer
Jamie Gordon

Executive Producer, Half The Sky
Blair Foster
George Harrison: Living In The Material World
Supervising Producer
Peter Bardehle
Vidicom
Founder
Kelly Matheson
WITNESS
Program Manager for the Americas

History Makers International - 2012

Commissioning Editors