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Â鶹Éç Worldwide, the commercial arm of the Â鶹Éç, today appointed Greg Johnson to the position of Senior Vice President, Factual, Sales & Distribution for Â鶹Éç Worldwide, Americas. Johnson will be based in New York and report to Matt Forde, EVP Sales & Co-Productions, Â鶹Éç Worldwide, Americas.

His appointment is part of an overall realignment of the Sales & Distribution team in the U.S., as Â鶹Éç Worldwide continues to expand its business in the region under the direction of Forde. Formerly, Johnson was Vice President of Sales for Disney-ABC International Television, Asia Pacific based in Hong Kong.

In his newly created role, Johnson will develop and implement a strategy for the Â鶹Éç Factual business that fosters growth in the U.S. market. He'll work closely with Â鶹Éç in-house and indie producers, as well as broadcasters and key clients to spearhead sales and co-production opportunities for major factual projects with US partners.

Matt Forde, EVP Sales & Co-Productions, Â鶹Éç Worldwide, Americas, said, "Greg has a proven track record, including executing opportunities across a vast portfolio of content, building and leveraging strong relationships with key clients, and creating winning sales strategies. The U.S. is a key region for Â鶹Éç Worldwide, and I believe opportunities within the factual genre are immense, judging by the success of programs such as the stunning Life series with the Discovery Channel and our recent co-production deal with National Geographic Channel for the innovative documentary Space Dive. The knowledge and expertise Greg brings to this position will strengthen the presence of the Â鶹Éç Factual brand in the U.S.. This has been a lengthy search process, but completely worth the wait to attract someone of Greg's caliber."

Johnson's career in television began in 2002 when he joined Walt Disney International Television (Asia-Pacific) in Hong Kong as a Regional Sales Manager. In 2003, he was upped to Executive Director of Sales for Buena Vista International Television (Asia-Pacific), where he established and managed a local office in Sydney and implemented successful sales strategies for the Disney portfolio across the Australia and New Zealand regions. Concurrently, Johnson sat on the board of The Movie Network in Sydney, where he managed Disney's investment in the venture. In 2006, Johnson was promoted to Vice President, Sales for Disney-ABC International Television (Asia-Pacific), where he oversaw five offices across Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Beijing and Mumbai and developed and executed strategies and business models for the distribution of content to varied platforms.

Catherine Mirra