Fotini Paraskakis, Dentsu-owned The Story Lab's managing director, production services, is ContentAsia's Woman to Watch for today because... she's carving new paths in global co-development for Asian programmers, opening doors to markets in Europe and the U.S., and, fresh off production alliances with Japan's two biggest commercial broadcasters to develop global IP, she's now been upped to global managing director for The Story Lab's production activities. 

One of the two recent Japanese deals is  a co-development with top commercial broadcaster, Nippon TV, of hybrid talent/game show format "9 Windows". The show debuted at Mipcom last year following its September 2020 premiere in Japan, and the format is already on its way to screens around the world and the two companies are in discussion on additional original entertainment format co-developments that are scalable creatively and commercially and returnable across multiple territories; no details have been released. 

The other alliance is with Fuji Television Network for to co-develop/produce studio-based entertainment shows as part of a broad international content alliance announced in February this year. The shows will debut on Fuji TV in Japan before being distributed internationally by The Story Lab.

The Japanese alliances follow "The Sound", co-developed with China’s Hunan TV, in advancing The Story Lab’s fledgling international expansion initiatives in Asia.

Paraskakis says she is motivated by "working with people who are passionate about telling stories, bringing ideas to life and sharing them with audiences across the world".

Here's what else she said in answer to the other two questions we've asked women across Asia's content industry for our latest series:

What would you like people to say about you when you are not in the room?

"That I am pleasure to work with, know my content, what works & what doesn't and that when I take on a project, I am determined to deliver 150%".  

Are you now where you thought you would be when you were 20?

"Absolutely not, my plan at 20 was to be an interpreter for the European Union". 
 

💥 ContentAsia's Women to Watch 2021 series asks women from across Asia's content industry to talk about what motivates them, what they would like people to say or think about them when they’re not in the room, & whether they are now where they thought they would be when they were 20.