Keren Shahar has been promoted to replace Alon Shtruzman as CEO of Keshet International, the global production and distribution arm of Israeli mini-major Keshet Media Group.
Shahar, currently COO and president of distribution, will replace Shtruzman on Jan. 1, 2023, when he will have spent 10 years in thee role. “I’d like to thank Alon for his mentorship and friendship, and for showing me what infinite optimism can achieve. Thank you also to the Keshet board, and to Avi in particular, for all his support and multiple votes of confidence over the years,” Shahar said in a statement, with a nod to Avi Nir, Keshet Media Group’s CEO.
In September, Shtruzman announced he was planning to leave the company at the end of 2022. Shahar has worked at Keshet for 18 years, having joined Keshet Media Group, Israel’s largest media company, in 2004.
Keshet International was launched in 2012 as the Israeli producer expanded outside its home market to export its formats and IP around the world. A milestone in reaching into Hollywood came when Keshet’s Prisoners of War series was adapted by Showtime for U.S. audiences as Homeland.
At its launch in 2012, Shahar was appointed to lead Keshet International’s sales team, and after a brief time, also stepped up to take on the role of COO. Shahar oversaw worldwide distribution of Keshet scripted formats like Prisoners of War, False Flag and When Heroes Fly, which have recently been adapted as Suspicion and Echo 3 for Apple TV+ by Keshet UK and Keshet Studios respectively.
As the company’s new CEO, Shahar will be responsible for the network’s production companies and distribution hubs, including KI in Tel Aviv, Keshet UK, Tresor and Keshet Tresor Fiction in Germany, Keshet Studios in the U.S., and a majority stake in Greenbird Media.
Her immediate goals will include expanding Keshet International’s production and boosting its curated catalog of international dramas, factual entertainment shows and formats.