Emanuela Spinetta has been appointed managing director of FremantleMedia's production business in Spain with immediate effect.

FreemantleMedia, formerly known as Pearson Television, is one of the major international producers of entertainment and drama productions, responsible for more than 260 programmes in over 40 countries.

In addition to her new role, Spinetta will continue as head of Light Entertainment for Grundy Italia, FremantleMedia's Italian production company. Since joining Light Entertainment last year, Spinetta has overseen the successful relaunches of Night Fever and Man o Man. In Spain, she will be responsible for the overall management of Fremantle's productions and exploring opportunities for international formats in the Spanish market-place.

As well as filling various roles in Southern Europe with Grundy, Spinetta also launched her own production company, Nostromo, between 1999 and 2002, specialising in light entertainment and working primarily in Latin America. She was concurrently the director of production for the audio-visual division of Planeta, for whom she produced a feature film and three major documentaries.