Mediacorp appoints new chief content officer and chief talent officer

SINGAPORE — National media network Mediacorp on Wednesday (July 21) announced two new senior appointments, which it said would “further strengthen its talent development and business strategies”. 

With effect from Wednesday, Mediacorp’s former chief content officer Doreen Neo was appointed to a newly created role of chief talent officer. Ms Virginia Lim, who joined from regional streaming platform Viu, took over as chief content officer. 

In her new role, Ms Neo will lead the transformation of talent development and management across Mediacorp — which owns TODAY — “with the aim of nurturing talent across the local ecosystem and creating more opportunities for them in markets beyond Singapore”.

These will include artistes under the management of The Celebrity Agency, deejays, news presenters and digital and social content creators in the Bloomr.SG network, the statement said.

Ms Neo, who has 37 years experience in the television and media business, joined Mediacorp’s predecessor the Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) in 1999 and worked in the business planning unit.  

She was the head of Mediacorp’s Chinese entertainment production and content distribution divisions in 2005.

Since then, she has been responsible for the production of local entertainment content, as well its worldwide distribution and syndication, and the development and management of artistes.

She has also been part of Mediacorp’s senior management team since 2017, helping to strengthen its production capabilities.  

“I have always believed in nurturing our local talents and growing them into stars with regional and international appeal. This move is part of our continuous effort to provide more opportunities for our artistes and to showcase homegrown talents to a wider audience. I am looking forward to this next lap at Mediacorp,” Ms Neo said.

For Ms Lim who is formerly from Viu, she will oversee the company’s production facilities and resources, content creation and syndication in her role as chief content officer. 

She has more than 26 years of experience in the media industry and started her career as a TV producer in TCS before moving to telecommunications company StarHub. 

She has held key leadership positions, including at Sony Pictures Television Networks for 11 years, eventually running the network’s business in Asia and was behind record-breaking shows that transcended cultures such as The Amazing Race Asia and Asia’s Got Talent, Mediacorp said. 

The statement added that Ms Lim has extensive experience across all functions from managing profit and loss to operations, advertising, distribution, content, production and marketing. 

“I am excited with the opportunity to contribute to the local media scene in my home country, especially working with the talented teams and resources at Mediacorp. I look forward to creating stellar original content that's enjoyable and inspiring from Singapore to the rest of the region,” Ms Lim said.

Mediacorp's chief executive officer Tham Loke Kheng said that Ms Neo was “well-placed to take (Mediacorp) to the next level in talent development” given her strong leadership qualities and work experience, while Ms Lim would be a valuable addition to the team given her impressive track record. 

“Mediacorp is at the centre of a vibrant transmedia ecosystem, engaging over three million people in Singapore daily across multiple platforms. We are the home of local storytelling and local talent, and best positioned to grow our talents and share our stories beyond our shores, be it through our own productions or working with partners,” Ms Tham said.