Former Newen Boss Romain Bessi Starts New Indie Chapter As CEO Of The Creatives

Romain Bessi, who spearhead the growth of Newen Studios and Studiocanal, has joined international production company alliance The Creatives in the newly created role of CEO.

Under the appointment, he had been charged by the nine member companies of The Creatives with establishing a unique integrated structure for the international alliance and launching a first financing round for a new form of studio owned by its producers.

The Creatives member companies are Haut Et Court (France), Lemming Film (Netherlands), Maipo Film (Norway), Razor Film (Germany), Spiro (Israel), Unité (France), Good Chaos (UK), Masha (US) and Komplizen Film (Germany).

News of the appointment was announced in a panel at Rome’s MIA market on Tuesday, in which Bessi joined five CEOs of the companies in the group to discuss the future of the alliance.

The Creatives was launched in 2021 as a long-term partnership between the member companies to forge co-productions, strategic joint ventures, share information and combine networks. Its founding synergies and shared values include culture, respect, inclusion and environmental responsibilities.

The members of the partnership have produced more than 330 films and 50 TV series between them to date, which in turn have clinched 90 awards at major festivals as well as more than 130 Oscar, Golden Globe, EFA, Emmy and BAFTA nominations.

“I feel extremely privileged to work with the incredibly talented producers of The Creatives,” said Bessim adding he was proud they had selected him for the role.

“After almost 30 years in the industry, this feels like the most natural step in my career, and certainly the most exciting. The companies that are part of the Creatives Studios certainly stand out in the industry, and together they bring unparalleled creative and business capacities, which will be further magnified by being part of this group.” 

Haut Et Court and The Creatives founder Carole Scotta suggested Bessi’s decision to come on board was “a very strong signal from the market place”.

“We’re thrilled to have Romain Bessi join us as CEO,” Komplizen’s Jonas Dornbach added. “His vision for combining growth and diversity isn’t just strategy—it’s about reshaping what’s possible in the entertainment industry. With his leadership, we’re ready to push boundaries and take The Creatives to another level.”

Bessi has spent 29 years in the entertainment industry in production, distribution and broadcasting. Most recently he was at Newen Studios, a division of TF1 Group, where he was chairman and CEO.

Newen Studios was a French drama production company with some €100m ($109m) in revenue when it was acquired by TF1 in 2016. But under Bessi from 2018 to 2023, the company grew dramatically through acquisitions and expansion, with revenue now exceeding €400m ($436m). The company now operates in 12 territories with around 50 labels in its stable. 

Before Newen, he was COO of StudioCanal from 2012 to 2016, having joined the company in 2006 as deputy managing director, finance, strategy and technical activities. While he was at StudioCanal, he transformed the French company into a major player in film distribution across five territories including UK and Germany with a powerful international lineup of IP and a substantial series production pipeline across several European territories.

He had previously spent ten years in the Canal+ group rising from financial controller to CFO of channel activities.