Geneva, 16 May 2011-  The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has appointed Wallace Macmillan* as Chief Financial & Administrative Officer (CFAO). Starting on 1 August 2011, he will take over full responsibility on 1 October 2011. Mr Macmillan succeeds Julian Ekiert, who will be retiring at the end of September 2011 after 18 years with the EBU.

EBU Director General, Ingrid Deltenre said, “Mr Macmillan will be a key addition to the EBU’s management team and will build on the solid foundations laid by Mr Ekiert in his tenure as CFAO. Mr Macmillan brings with him more than 30 years’ experience in financial management, and his 25 years in the media sector and international experience make him an excellent fit for us. I look forward to his support as we position the EBU to help its Members meet the challenges of a rapidly changing media landscape."

Mr Macmillan was most recently the Chief Financial Officer of Central European Media Enterprises, a NASDAQ-listed broadcasting, content and new media company operating leading networks in six central and eastern European countries. Prior to this he held senior finance roles with EMI, Virgin Music Group and BMG. Mr Macmillan began his career with Price Waterhouse.

He commented on his appointment, "The EBU plays an important role in promoting both the effectiveness and the standards of public broadcasting internationally and I’m proud to be offered this opportunity to contribute to its future development."

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*Biography Wallace Macmillan

After qualifying as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse, Wallace Macmillan's media sector career began when he joined the Bertelsmann Group in 1983. Over the next five years he held several positions in Germany before transferring to New York as Director of Group Reporting for the recently established Bertelsmann Music Group. In 1990 he joined Virgin Music Group in London as International Financial Controller and, following the acquisition by EMI, he held positions as Finance Director in Virgin UK and EMI UK, then international roles as Regional CFO and as Vice-President Finance within EMI Recorded Music. He left EMI in 2001 and provided consultancy services to both Bertelsmann and EMI before joining Central European Media Enterprises as Chief Financial Officer in 2003.

Mr Macmillan’s mother tongue is English, and he speaks good German and has a solid grounding in French. He has worked in Birmingham, Gütersloh, Munich, New York and London.

About the EBU

The EBU serves 85 national media organizations in 56 countries in and around Europe. It represents its Members and promotes the values and distinctiveness of public service media in Europe and around the world. The Eurovision and Euroradio networks deliver news, sports, events and music to EBU Members and other media organizations. Services to Members range from legal advice, technical standardization and development to coproduction and exchange of quality European content.  For more information about the EBU: www.ebu.ch