Viaplay appoints new CFO and co-CEOs of Swedish operations

Johan Johansson (Source: Viaplay Group)

Struggling Nordic media outfit, Viaplay Group, has hired Johan Johansson to serve as executive vice president, group chief financial officer and co-CEO of the group’s Swedish operations.

Johansson will join the Nordic-focused streamer at the start of August and work alongside EVP of content acquisition, Christian Albeck, who will also take on the additional role of co-CEO of the Swedish operations on a permanent basis. His appointment comes after serving as interim CEO of the Swedish operations since the start of the year.

Johansson was most recently chief financial officer and deputy CEO of the growth and funding platform Gilion (formerly Ark Kapital) for the past year.  At the start of his career he spent a decade at Modern Times Group (MTG), Viaplay’s former parent company. His roles at MTG included CFO and chief operating officer of MTG’s Swedish operations, and VP of finance and operations.

Johansson also served as CEO of the telecom operator Three in Sweden and watch and jewellery retailer Daniel Wellington.

Christian Albeck (Source: Viaplay Group)

Albeck has worked at Viaplay and MTG for over 21 years, where he has held a number of leadership roles including senior vice president of content for the Nordic operations. He became EVP of content acquisition following a restructure of Viaplay’s executive management team, as of result of financial difficulties.

Departures

Enrique Patrickson, who has been EVP, Group CFO and head of strategy and M&A since 2022 will also be leaving Viaplay. The company said he will remain in his position during a transition period, until the appointment of his successor.

Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, Viaplay Group president and CEO said: “Johan knows Viaplay Group and our products very well from his previous roles at MTG, and has gathered wide ranging and highly relevant experience from the leadership positions he has held since leaving MTG. I am looking forward to working with him again as we continue to retransform Viaplay Group into the geographically focused and profitably growing company that it should be. We have many operational improvements and innovations to make in Sweden and across the Group, and the combination of Christian and Johan’s skills and backgrounds will be vital in the entrepreneurial development of this exciting business in the rapidly evolving entertainment industry.

He added, “it has been a great pleasure working with Enrique since last June, and I am very grateful to have had him at my side driving the recapitalisation and retransformation of Viaplay Group from a functionally oriented group with broad content spend into a much more country- and product-focused organisation. He has made a vital contribution to getting the Group back on track. Our clear priorities now are to deliver commercially viable content, right-price our entertainment offerings, explore new revenue streams, nurture strategic partnerships and maintain strict cost control in an accountable organisation.”

Simon Duffy, interim Chair of the Viaplay Group board of directors added: “I would like to thank Enrique for the instrumental role he played in the recapitalisation process, while at the same time successfully leading the finance, M&A and strategy teams as we have implemented a massive transformation programme and divested significant parts of our business. We wish him the very best for the future. The calibre of the new appointments reflects the strength and attractiveness of the Viaplay Group business, our products and our people. We have a lot to achieve now that the recapitalisation of the Group has been completed, and we are addressing key sales and cost drivers across the business in order to drive improved and sustainable return on investment levels.”