Walid Nakschbandi to become CEO of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
Walid Nakschbandi is to become the new CEO of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW on 1 January 2024, thus succeeding the long-serving CEO Petra Müller. He will be moving from the Holtzbrinck Group where he has worked on a national and international level for many years, most recently as the Managing Director and Chief Innovation Officer of the Holtzbrinck Buchverlage. With a wide range of responsibilities, Walid Nakschbandi has made a significant contribution towards shaping comprehensive and trend-setting transformation processes in recent decades. The representatives of the four shareholders, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, WDR, ZDF and RTL, are convinced that Walid Nakschbandi will build on the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW’s special position as one of the leading funding institutions in Germany and Europe.
Walid Nakschbandi Photo for download: here
Nathanael Liminski, Media Minister of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia: "I am very pleased that with Walid Nakschbandi we have a personality for the position of CEO who immediately convinced us with his diverse experience, his strong network and his impressive biography. He is a proven connoisseur of the film and media landscape with a remarkable intuition for topics and trends. He is aware of the socio-political importance of film and media and derives his vision for North Rhine-Westphalia as a media hub from this."
Tom Buhrow, Director-General, WDR: "With Walid Nakschbandi, NRW will continue to be the top address for creatives from film, television and series. We at WDR are naturally especially pleased when a child from the Rhineland comes back to their homeland and we’re looking forward to working with him."
Dr. Norbert Himmler, Director-General, ZDF: " We have found an experienced media expert in Walid Nakschbandi to head up the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW. He will take film and media funding in North Rhine-Westphalia a step further with his intuition for topics and programmes as well as his extensive knowledge of the German production landscape."
Stephan Schmitter, Managing Director Programme and Brands, RTL Germany: "We wish Walid Nakschbandi all the best for his exciting tasks in a rapidly changing market and much success in our common goal for the region. RTL Germany is pleased to be able to make an active contribution with a whole range of attractive productions for TV and streaming services and, at the same time, we are really looking forward to continuing the constructive cooperation with FMS."
Walid Nakschbandi began his career as a political journalist after studying Political Science and Law in Bonn and Berlin. In 1996, he joined the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group and took over the sole management of AVE Gesellschaft für Fernsehproduktion GmbH in 1999, developing the company further both in the areas of strategy and innovative programming. As a producer, he received numerous awards for his films such as "My Daughter, Anne Frank", "Der Dorfpolizist" or "Letzte Ausfahrt Gera – Acht Stunden mit Beate Zschäpe". After working at Pan Macmillan in Palo Alto/California and Cape Town/South Africa, Walid Nakschbandi joined the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group holding company in 2020 as Senior Vice President and Chief Content Officer. Most recently, he was Chief Innovation Officer at Holtzbrinck Buchverlage where he drove the transformation to multimedia and growth forward.
Walid Nakschbandi on his new role: "In order to develop the Stiftung’s portfolio in a strategic way, it’s necessary to engage with the constantly changing consumer and market conditions. That’s something I see as being an extremely attractive task where one can introduce important new approaches in and for the region and contribute to a strengthening of its positioning and growth as a media and digital hub. In addition, it is still important for me to continue social debates and innovations in the areas of film, TV, gaming, audio, events, web formats and series. As a Rhinelander, I’m particularly happy to be able to represent my home region in this important position."
Founded in 1991, the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW has been one of the most important funding institutions in Germany and Europe for over 30 years with an average funding volume of 40 million euros. Its mission is to strengthen film and media culture and the film and media industry in North Rhine-Westphalia. The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW backs cinema and television films, series, games, web content, the modernisation of cinemas, the development of radio plays and supports young film and media talent in NRW. Location marketing and development as well as the presentation of the media region at home and abroad are also among its tasks.
For further information: Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Tanja Güß, Katharina Müller, Tel.: 0211-93050-23/-39