ViacomCBS Boss, Alex Okosi To Join YouTube As EMEA Head

By the end of February 2020, entertainment contents veteran, Alex Okosi will be vacating his office as the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of ViacomCBS Network Africa and BET International.

His departure will bring to a close his over two decades relationship with the conglomerate consummated with the launching of MTV Base in 2005.

Early this week, the international network announced the impending departure, by next month, of Okosi, who has made an immeasurable impact on their business in Africa.

But ViacomCBS’ loss is YouTube’s gains. The global digital streaming company has announced that Okosi will be taking on the role of managing director of emerging markets for YouTube in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

From April, Okosi will be responsible for running YouTube’s business and partnership teams across emerging markets in EMEA including Russia, the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa.

He will be based in London from where he’ll report to the head of YouTube EMEA, Cécile Frot-Coutaz.

“YouTube is a game-changing platform that plays an increasingly important role in our lives today through the dynamic content and innovation that it delivers,” Okosi said. “I am very excited to be joining Cecile’s leadership team to continue empowering creators and elevating value for viewers and partners across the region.”

Google and YouTube have long invested in growing its business across its EMEA emerging markets. Okosi’s appointment will only further fuel the development of the creative ecosystem in the region.

Okosi, who has a track record for building businesses and audiences in established and new markets, will bring his wealth of experience in the content industries to drive YouTube further expansion in these key markets.

Okosi spearheaded the development of ViacomCBS Network business on the continent, which now delivers more channels to Africa than any other international network – reaching 100 million viewers in 48 territories across MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and BET.

He took over leadership of BET International in 2017 and has continued to advance the value of the brand internationally delivering double-digit distribution growth and improving profitability and margins.