Turner has appointed Riccardo Donato as VP of commercial development for Northern Europe, based out of the London office. In his new role, Donato will maximize revenue and identify and deliver commercial opportunities for Turner’s UK and Nordic channels and services (including Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Cartoonito and Toonix), as well as launching or developing new SVOD, OTT, D2C and other digital initiatives.

Donato previously served as director of distribution and digital for A+E Networks UK, and held several positions at BBC Worldwide before that.

His appointment comes on the heels of a strong 2018 performance from the company’s Northern Europe division; Cartoon Network was the top pay-TV channel in the region last year, and Turner launched its Toonix app—an ad-free, direct-to-consumer OTT service geared toward kids—in the Nordics in 2018, as well. (Toonix was first made available to consumers on HBO Nordic’s website in 2017.)