Raffaele Annecchino, who ran Paramount’s international business for years, has died at 55. His press office said he died suddenly while on holiday in the Balearic Islands. Variety reported the cause as acute meningitis.
Annecchino was born in Ivrea, Italy, in 1971. He earned an MBA at IE Business School in Madrid and later took a media executive program run with Harvard Business School and INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France. Before Paramount he worked at Turner International, Cartoon Network and CNN.
He joined the company in the late 1990s in Madrid, in a commercial job, and stayed more than 25 years. By the end he was responsible for operations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia. In December 2020 he became president and CEO of ViacomCBS Networks International.
His years at the top coincided with the shift from broadcast channels to streaming. Annecchino led the overseas launch of Paramount+ and pushed Pluto TV into new markets. He also played a part in SkyShowtime, the 2022 joint venture between Paramount and Comcast.
The channels under him included MTV, Nickelodeon and BET, plus Channel 5 in Britain, Network 10 in Australia, Telefe in Argentina and Chilevisión in Chile. He backed production hubs in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Colleagues knew him as a negotiator, and his deal-making partners ranged from Sky, Canal+ and MultiChoice to Viaplay, Corus, J:COM, Claro and Mediapro. He sat on the boards of Viacom 18 India, SBS Media in South Korea and SkyShowtime.
After Paramount he set up Blue Ocean Media Partners, a consultancy with offices in Madrid and Dubai, where he was managing partner and CEO. More recently he advised Mediapro Middle East on new business and content, with a focus on sports, esports and premium content distribution.
Bob Bakish, a former Paramount president and CEO, wrote on social media: “Such sad news. Raffa was a force of nature. Taken way too young. He will be missed by many. May he rest in peace.”
Alex Okosi, once managing director of Paramount Africa and now managing director of Google Africa, called him “a deeply valued colleague and a dear friend” in a statement. He said Annecchino combined “sharp commercial instinct and strategic vision with genuine warmth, humanity and optimism.” Okosi added: “He built lasting trust, inspired those around him to think bigger and always made time for people.”
Sources
- Former CEO of Paramount International Raffaele Annecchino dies at 55
- Raffaele Annecchino, Former CEO of Paramount International, Dies at 55
- Raffaele Annecchino, Former President and CEO of Paramount International, Dies at 55
