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Foster's appointment as the unit's commercial director, in January 2008, signalled GroupM's move into content creation in the UK.

In his new role Foster will be responsible for the development of GroupM's content business in the UK but will also structure a global strategy for all Group M content activities.

He will report to Nick Theakstone, chief executive of GroupM UK, and Peter Tortorici, chief executive, GroupM Entertainment Worldwide.

Foster will focus particularly on the financial aspects of the creation, production and distribution of content. He will work on projects including co-productions, deficit financing, co-development agreements and distribution agreements.

Before joining Fox TV Studios, Foster ran a content distribution and consultancy company working with Hollywood studios, including CBS Paramount and Warner Bros. Before that, he was a business development director at OMD UK.

Tortorici said that Foster's experience in striking the financing for content initiatives "has already shown strong results and has established a framework for us to move forward".

He also noted that Foster's new role will concentrate on GroupM Entertainment financing work, with branded content projects remaining the province of GroupM's operating units: Maxus, MediaCom, Mediaedge:cia and MindShare.