Simone de Pruyssenaere de la Woestyne is taking the reins at Primitives, succeeding Jan Huyse as managing director of the Belgium-based format distributor.
Huyse has spent eight years leading Primitives, the outfit behind the hit 99 To Beat format brand. De Pruyssenaere de la Woestyne assumes the MD role on January 1, 2026, after serving as director of sales and acquisitions since 2022. She joined Primitives from Be-Entertainment and previously worked at Nordic World, Magnify Media and Absolutely Independent. For the last decade, she has also run her own consultancy, Cliffhanger Media.
99 To Beat is among the top six most-sold formats in the world, according to The WIT, having been acquired by 12 broadcasters, including FOX in the U.S, and Atresmedia in Spain.
Huyse said, “Primitives started as a small vehicle to help three Belgian independent producers distribute their formats to the wider world. Seeing it develop into a solid player in the formats market is one of the great professional pleasures of my long career in the business. I want to thank our rightsholders and clients for their trust, our shareholders for giving us a free rein in terms of plans and ambitions—and, of course, the great staff that made it all happen. Special thanks go out to Siobhan Crawford for daring to be bold and opening up our limited Belgian point of view. Finally, I could not be happier that Simone is taking over the baton. Her excellent work as sales and acquisitions director has helped make this little Belgian company the number-one independent distributor in the world. And I’m convinced there’s a lot more to come.”
De Pruyssenaere de la Woestyne added: “Primitives has achieved the rare feat of sustaining growth, revenue and relevance in a volatile global market. The past year has been one of our strongest yet, with formats including 99 To Beat, Zero Stars and The Ultimate Celebrity Car Park Showdown Squad picking up real momentum internationally. We seem to have hit a sweet spot between scale, quality and originality — plus we can draw on Belgium’s well-deserved reputation for creative risk-taking and quirky storytelling. I’m looking forward to continuing to build on this success with our brilliant team, strong creative partners, and formats that deserve the spotlight.”
