SkyShowtime hires ex-HBO Max exec as strategy chief

SkyShowtime, Sky’s streaming joint venture with Paramount, has named former HBO Max executive Roberto Soto as chief strategy officer and John Heinemann, formerly with The Walt Disney Company, as General Counsel. The pair will join the company later this year. 

Roberto Soto

Soto has served as SVP and head of growth marketing for EMEA at HBO Max, leading marketing, PR, subscriber acquisition, CRM, and growth analytics teams and heading up HBO Max’s successful roll-out across all of SkyShowtime’s future markets including, the Nordics, Netherlands, Poland, and Central and Eastern Europe.

In this newly created role at SkyShowtime, he will lead the development and execution of the streamer’s strategy, working closely with teams across the organisation. Based in Amsterdam, he will report directly to CEO Monty Sarhan.

Prior to joining HBO Max, Soto held senior roles at Paramount Global, formerly ViacomCBS, Fox International Channels, and Liberty Global. He also worked at streaming start-ups Mubi and Tribes Media.

Sarhan said: “Roberto’s diverse experience across entertainment and sports streaming services, including multiple launches throughout Europe, make him uniquely positioned to help define our company’s strategy and drive its execution across the organisation. He will be instrumental in making SkyShowtime the next great streaming service for Europe.”

Soto said: “I am thrilled to join SkyShowtime and can’t wait to work together with Monty and his team to build a unique and premium entertainment brand offering – a combination of iconic, high-quality content from the portfolios of the world’s leading studios, and an intuitive viewing experience that audiences in Europe will love.”

Heinemann was most recently associate principal counsel for Nordics, Baltics and MENA at the Walt Disney Company.

Reporting to Sarhan, he will serve as the chief legal officer of the new company, acting as a strategic advisor to the leadership team and the Board of Directors while overseeing the entire legal function including commercial and transactional matters, compliance, regulatory matters, privacy and data protection, content licensing, and distribution.