Ralf Rückauer (41), previously Sales Manager for German-speaking territories as well as Central and Eastern Europe at ZDF Enterprises, has been appointed Head of Sales with effect of January 2012.

In his new role, Rückauer is responsible for the sales of full-length programming. The team of Rainer Hastrich, Director ZDF.archive and contunico, will continue to be in charge of the distribution of footage and clips.

Fred Burcksen, Vice President Sales, Merchandising and Coproductions at ZDF Enterprises: "Ralf Rueckauer is a long-serving employee who knows the sales portfolio inside out. We are confident that with him at the helm of TV program sales, we are going to be best placed to address the challenges and opportunities of the future."

After studying Film and Television Sciences at the Ruhr University in Bochum, Ralf Rueckauer started out in his career in 1997 as Junior Creative Producer at Gemini/Colon Filmproduktion in Cologne. In 1999, Rueckauer moved to German pubcaster ZDF, where he worked in the channel's "Das kleine Fernsehspiel" department, heading up the format development lab "quantum".

Rueckauer has worked for ZDF Enterprises since 2003, initially as Project Manager Distribution and Investments, with the focus on documentaries, and then as Sales Manager for German-speaking countries and Central and Eastern Europe.