TalkbackThames has hired Channel 4's head of commercial affairs as its new chief operating officer.

Sara Geater resigned from the post, where she has masterminded the channel's policy on trading rights, and will take over responsibility for the production company's commercial, legal and business affairs in the new year.

Reporting to chief executive Lorraine Heggessey, she will also be involved in forming strategy and making production decisions.

Heggessey said of the appointment: "As production comes of age we need to ensure that we are ideally placed to exploit commercial opportunities across all media and platforms, and that we capitalise on the rights we now own."

Geater has lead a team of 70 at Channel 4 for three years and played a key role in developing its policy on rights and terms of trade. Previously she was director of rights and business affairs at the BBC.