Board of Directors
British, born 1949
Elected 2018
Simon Duffy has been a member of the Board of Directors since July 2018 and Interim Chair of the Board since July 2023. Simon was Executive Chairman of Tradus plc until the company’s sale in March 2008. Simon was also Executive Vice-Chairman of ntl:Telewest until 2007, having joined ntl in 2003 as CEO. Simon has also served as CFO of Orange SA, CEO of wireless data specialist End2End AS, CEO and Deputy Chairman of WorldOnline International BV, and held senior positions at EMI Group plc and Guinness plc. Simon is a Non-Executive Chairman of Modern Times Group MTG AB and of YouView TV Ltd and a non-executive director of Avianca Group International Limited. Simon holds a Master’s degree from University of Oxford and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Independent of the Company, management and independent of the major shareholders.
Ownership: 29,988 VPLAY Class B shares.
Swedish, born 1964
Elected 2024
Andrea Gisle Joosen has been a member of the Board of Directors since May 2024. She is currently Chair of the Boards of Directors of Charge Amps and Bilprovningen. Andrea is also a member of the Boards of Directors of 888 Holdings (publ), Stadium and Logent. She has previously held positions such as CEO of the Swedish operations of Boxer TV and Managing Director of the Nordic operations of Panasonic, Chantelle and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, as well as positions with Procter & Gamble and Mars. Andrea holds an MSc in International Marketing from Copenhagen Business School.
Chair of the Remuneration Committee.
Independent of the Company, management and major shareholders.
Ownership: 150,000 VPLAY Class B shares.
Swedish, born 1971
Elected 2024
Erik Forsberg has been a member of the Board of Directors since May 2024. He is currently Chair of the Boards of Directors of LecToGo and Collectia. Erik is also a member of the Boards of Directors of Stillfront Group (publ), Enento Group (publ) and Deltalite. He has previously held positions such as CFO of Intrum (publ) from 2011 to 2017, and CFO of Cision (publ). Erik holds an MSc in Business and Administration from Stockholm School of Economics.
Chair of the Audit Committee.
Independent of the Company, management and major shareholders.
Ownership: 400,000 VPLAY Class B Shares.
Swedish, born 1958
Elected 2024
Katarina Bonde has been a member of the Board of Directors since May 2024. She is currently Chair of the Boards of Directors of Stillfront Group (publ), Mentimeter, Stratsys and Zimpler. Katarina is also a member of the Board of Directors of Mycronic (publ). She has previously had board roles at public and private companies such as Opus Group, ACQ Bure, AP6 (Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund), CEO, UniSite Software, Managing Director of Captura International, EVP, Sales and Marketing at Captura Software (acquired by SAP) and Sales Director at Dun & Bradstreet. Katarina holds an MSc in Applied Physics and Mathematics from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
Member of the Audit Committee.
Independent of the Company, management and major shareholders.
Ownership: 0 VPLAY Class B shares.
French, born 1970
Elected 2024
Maxime Saada has been a member of the Board of Directors since May 2024. He currently serves as Chair and CEO, CANAL+ Group, Chair of L’Olympia, Chair and CEO, Dailymotion and Vice President of Lagardère Group, as well as a member of the Management Board of Vivendi. Maxime’s previous positions at CANAL+ Group include Deputy CEO, France, Head of Sales, Head of Marketing and Head of Strategy. He holds an MBA from HEC Paris and is a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies.
Member of the Remuneration Committee.
Representative of a major shareholder.
Ownership: 0 VPLAY Class B shares.
French, born 1958
Elected 2024
Jacques du Puy has been a member of the Board of Directors since May 2024. He currently serves as President of CANAL+ International Development and holds various board positions within CANAL+ Group. Jacques was previously COO of Vetoquinol, CEO, Europe, Africa and Middle East at Bayer CropScience, CEO, Japan and Korea at Aventis CropScience, and CEO, India then Japan at Rhône-Poulenc Agro. He holds a Master’s degree in Agricultural Engineering from Agro-Paris Tech and a Business Master’s degree from Sorbonne University-IAE.
Member of the Audit Committee.
Representative of a major shareholder.
Ownership: 0 VPLAY Class B shares.
Swedish, born 1972
Elected 2024
Anna Bäck has been a member of the Board of Directors since May 2024. She is currently Chair of the Board of Directors of Precis Digital. Anna is also a member of the Boards of Directors of Nordnet Bank, Permobil, the Swedish Biathlon Association, Systembolaget and Tradera. She has previously held positions such as CEO, Kivra and Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company. Anna holds an executive MBA from Stockholm School of Economics, and an MSc in Industrial Engineering and Management from Linköping University.
Member of the Remuneration Committee.
Independent of the Company, management and major shareholders.
Ownership: 249,687 VPLAY Class B shares.
French, born 1963
Elected 2024
Didier Stoessel has been a member of the Board of Directors since May 2024. He is currently Chief Investment Officer of PPF Group and CEO, Central European Media Enterprises, and he holds various private company board positions within the PPF Group portfolio. Didier was previously CEO, Nova Broadcasting Group, CEO, Apace Media (publ), Global CEO, Corporate Finance at HSBC Investment Bank and Director of Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch International. He holds an MSc in engineering from ENSTA in Paris, an MBA from INSEAD and a Master’s degree in European Affairs from École Nationale d’Administration.
Member of the Audit Committee.
Representative of a major shareholder.
Ownership: 0 VPLAY Class B shares.
Swedish, born 1973
Elected 2024
Annica Witschard has been a member of the Board of Directors since May 2024. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Sampo Group (publ). Annica has previously been CEO, Home Credit Vietnam and Home Credit Philippines, and CEO, Nordics for GE Money Bank. Home Credit Group is PPF Group’s consumer finance division. Annica holds an MSc in Business and Economics from Linköping University.
Member of the Remuneration Committee.
Representative of a major shareholder.
Ownership: 60 240 VPLAY Class B shares.
Group Executive Team
Danish, born 1966
Jørgen was appointed President and CEO of Viaplay Group on 5 June 2023. Jørgen is the former President and CEO of Modern Times Group (MTG), the Sweden based digital entertainment business, where he worked from 1994 to 2020. He also sat on the board of Zalando as a non-executive director from 2016 to 2021. Jørgen has strong experience of leading digital-first businesses and he is also chair of ASOS Plc.
Ownership: 10,959,800 VPLAY Class B shares.
Johan Johansson was appointed Group CFO for Viaplay Group and Co-CEO for Viaplay Group Sweden on 1 August 2024.
Before joining, Johan was CFO and Deputy CEO of Gilion (formerly Ark Kapital). Prior to that he server as CEO and a Board member of Daniel Wellington, after have been CEO of the telecom operator Three in Sweden. Johan began his career at Modern Times Group (MTG) where he spent 10 years in various roles, including CFO & COO MTG Sweden, and Vice President of Finance and Operations. He is a graduate of KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University.
Ownership: 0 VPLAY Class B shares
Greek, British, born 1976
Vanda was appointed EVP, Viaplay Select & Content Distribution at Viaplay Group on 1 July 2023. She was previously EVP and Chief Commercial Officer, North America & Viaplay. Before that, she was SVP and Group Head of Acquisitions, Content Distribution & Partnerships. Vanda joined the company in 2003 and has held roles including VP Pay TV, VoD and New Media, and Senior Lawyer. She holds a degree in law from the University of Athens, an LLM in Entertainment Law from the University of Westminster and a degree in piano from the Hellenic Conservatory of Music and Arts, and has also studied theatre in Athens and London. Vanda has been a member of the Athens Bar Association since 2001 and a solicitor at the Supreme Court of England and Wales since 2003.
Ownership: 608,030 VPLAY Class B shares.
Danish, born 1980
Christian was appointed EVP Content Acquisition and Co-CEO Swedish Operations at Viaplay Group on 1 July 2023. He was previously SVP Content Nordics at Viaplay. Prior to that, Christian has held various positions at Viaplay Group since joining the company in July 2002. Christian holds a Master of Science from Copenhagen Business School.
Ownership: 400,000 VPLAY Class B shares.
Kenneth was appointed Interim CEO Norwegian Operations at Viaplay Group on 1 July 2023. He was previously VP and Head of the Group’s radio operations in Norway. Kenneth has held various management positions in Viaplay Group for more than twenty years and has worked in the media industry for more than thirty years. He has a background as a journalist and editor working with news and current affairs in both public and commercial broadcasting. He joined the efforts to establish the first national commercial radio station in Norway, P4, in 1993. Kenneth has a media industry diploma from CBS Executive and serves on several industry boards including the National Association of Press and Media.
Ownership: 327,642 VPLAY Class B shares.
Danish, born 1967
Lars Bo was appointed EVP and CEO Danish and Icelantic operations at Viaplay Group on 1 August 2023. Lars Bo is the former CEO of media agency group Dentsu in the Nordic, Central and Eastern European markets from 2006-2019. He then joined Parken Sport & Entertainment and F.C. København as managing director from 2020-2021. Recently, Lars Bo has been General Manager Nordics for the tech company Snap Inc, where he joined April 2022. He is also executive chairman of the Danish sushi restaurant chain Letz Sushi. Lars Bo has a strong leadership background from media, tech, and communication.
Ownership: 1,809,861 VPLAY Class B shares.
Danish, born 1971
Peter was appointed EVP and Chief Sport & Business Development Officer at Viaplay Group on 14 June 2023. He is also responsible for running the Group’s operations in the Netherlands, Poland, Baltics, and the UK. He first joined the company in 2003 and was previously EVP and Chief Sports Officer and an advisor to Viaplay’s President and CEO on sports rights. Peter was appointed Head of Sports in 2013, having been responsible for the company’s sports rights acquisitions since 2006. In addition, Peter has been EVP and Head of Product Development & Incubation at Modern Times Group, CEO of DreamHack Sports Games and COO of Turtle Entertainment. Peter graduated from the Danish School of Media & Journalism and has worked as a reporter, commentator, host and Editor in Chief at Danmarks Radio.
Ownership: 4,078,747 VPLAY Class B shares.
Swedish, born 1980
Philip was appointed EVP and Chief Technology & Product Officer at Viaplay Group on 3 May 2022. He was previously SVP Product at Viaplay. He joined the company in August 2018 from Travelport, and previously spent five years in a range of leadership roles at SAS, including VP Product Development & Management. Philip holds a Bachelor's degree in Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and is a graduate of the Stockholm School of Economics.
Ownership: 442,747 VPLAY Class B shares.