Tony Cohen, born in 1953, began his career as a journalist working on London regional newspapers and the Sunday Times.  He joined London Weekend Television in 1979 where he held senior production posts. In 1995 he was appointed managing director of the Broadcasting Division of Pearson Television. He later became co-chairman of the North American division of Pearson Television, and president of its production operation in Los Angeles. In 2000 he returned to the UK to run worldwide production and in 2001 became CEO of RTL Group’s production arm, FremantleMedia (formerly known as Pearson Television), based in London.