FremantleMedia Appoints Sangeeta Desai To COO/CFO Post

American Idol and X Factor producer FremantleMedia has named former HIT Entertainment COO Sangeeta Desai to the combined roles of COO and CFO with immediate effect. The exec will be based in London and report to Fremantle CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz. Desai has also been named to the board of directors. Before joining HIT, she was a principal at private equity firm Apax Partners and also did stints at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. Fremantle lately has been making a push in the scripted arena. It recently teamed with veteran feature and TV writer/producer Marshall Herskovitz for a drama series project inspired by the book Hitlerland. It’s also producing E!’s upcoming scripted art gallery series Gallerina and is developing Joan of Arc novel The Maid into a drama series with Craig Pearce.