Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) has upped Nicholas Walters to VP and GM of VIMN Russia and CIS, where he will manage the company’s newly opened Moscow office.

Walters is responsible for the strategy, development and execution of a full-scale local operation and will continue to oversee the corporate development function for VIMN’s wider Emerging Markets region, including the international roll out of Viacom Blink! following the new channel’s launch in Poland last month.

Over the last 12 months, Walters has worked toward a 70% increase in distribution across the region. The business has also been driven by various strategic acquisitions, syndication and licensing partnerships, including a terrestrial content deal with Russian TV network TNT, which will see 250 hours of localized Nickelodeon content distributed across the 30 million household-strong network.

In his previous role as senior director of strategy and corporate development, Walters was responsible for strategy across VIMN’s multi-brand portfolio of channels, events and digital assets in CEE, Russia, Africa, the Middle East and India.