Company Launches & Partnerships
Millennial-focused Fusion has launched SVOD service Vessel. The service will give access to several Fusion series for three days before they’re available on other platforms, as well as a mix of short form video content.
Vice Media launched its first women’s interest site, Broadly. The channel will feature original reporting on culture, fashion, sex and politics, in video series, docs, profiles and daily features. Sample programming: Style and Error, Ovary Action and a marijuana column.
Jeff Kwatinetz is resurrecting The Firm, the management and production company he shuttered after his departure as CEO. After first leaving The Firm, he launched Prospect Park with Richard Frank. The management operations of Prospect Park will now shift over to The Firm. All existing television projects will remain under Prospect Park including Royal Pains and Salem. The Firm’s relaunch will be based in Santa Monica and focus on music, film and television, and sports.
Ovation and crowd-funding site RocketHub will launch Creative Studio in the fall, a joint initiative designed to assist artists in their creative projects. The service will provide pre-launch tips and training, marketing support, on-air promotion on Ovation TV, social media marketing and support throughout fund-raising campaigns.
Film
Cinedigm named Blair Westlake, Andy Schuon, Zvi Rhine and Patrick O’Brien to its Board of Directors. In addition, they appointed Ron Chez as Strategic Advisor. Chez spent the last six years as the Co-Chairman of Merriman Holdings.
Kelly Summers is now the SVP of Strategy & Planning at Alchemy. She previously founded Bella Rafe Media.
Michael Winton is the new VP of Marketing at Cohen Media Group. He was previously the Director of Genre Marketing at IFC Films/IFC Midnight.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs ran unopposed in the 2015 Board of Governors elections and will serve a third term. AMPAS presidents can serve four one-year terms. Jeffrey Kurland was name First VP; incumbents John Bailey and Kathleen Kennedy were elected to VP posts, incumbent Bill Kroyer was elected Secretary, Jim Gianopulos was elected Treasurer and Phil Robinson was elected Secretary.
Tom Rothman has made some changes to his staff at Columbia Pictures. He has eliminated the President of Production position and has named Palak Patel and David Beaubaire as EVPs, and Hannah Minghella has shifted to become President of TriStar Pictures. Minghella will take The Rosie Project, which has Jennifer Lawrence attached to star along with her to TriStar.
Dene Stratton has left MGM as their CFO and is pursuing other opportunities. Kenneth J. Kay has been appointed the new CFO at MGM. He previously co-founded Raven at LLC.
Justin Lam is the new VP at Hutch Parker Entertainment. He was previously a Creative Executive at New Regency Productions
After the announcement of David Glasser and now Tom Quinn and Jason Janego’s exit, The Weinstein Company has promoted several executives. Francois Martin will be promoted to President of Strategic Global Marketing. Ryan Brasno will handle creative advertising under distribution president Erik Lomas. Jamie Schwartz will be the new head of international marketing. Robert Walak has been upped to head of TV and global acquisitions and Dan Guando will become head of American productions and acquisitions from New York. Meanwhile, Negeen Yazdi has been named head of overseas acquisitions and productions from the London office.
TV
20-year veteran of Discovery Communications, Marjorie Kaplan will become the President of Content at Discovery Networks International, in a newly created post. She will be responsible for strategy, coordination, and execution of all the division’s content and brand strategies across the entire portfolio, and on all platforms worldwide.
Turner has promoted Justin Williams, naming him senior vice president of digital ventures for TNT and TBS. Williams has been with the networks since 2013.
Kimberly Roberto is now a Creative Executive of Live Action and Creative Affairs at DC Entertainment. Up from her position as a coordinator at the CW in the current programming department.
Ed Sayer has been named the VP of Production and Development at Discovery Networks International. He was formerly the VP of Commissioning at NatGeo.
Steve Burns is exiting Tribune Media in his post as CFO. Former CFO Chandler Bigelow, who’s been named the Chief Strategies & Operations Officer, will take over until a replacement can be found.
Karey Burke, ABC Family’s EVP Programming and Development, has named Simran S. Sethi as SVP, Original Programming and Development. She was previously senior vice president of comedy development at NBC. Simran replaces Brooke Bowman, who is shifting from her SVP post to a consulting role. Sethi will oversee ABC Family’s scripted series development team and will have creative oversight over scripted pilots. In addition, she will develop short form scripted shows for the network’s digital platform. The network has also made two other hires, naming George Chen VP of strategy and business development and Karissa Zigarovich director of consumer insights.
Rich Magallanes is the new SVP of Development & Production at Saban Brands. He was previously the SVP of Current Series & Production at Nickelodeon.
Erin Mechanic is now a Development Producer at Spike TV and was previously the Manager of Development at Ardaban.
Alex Berkett is now the SVP of Corporate Development at Viacom. He previously co-founded Townsquare Media where he was also the EVP.
Bob Cook, who spent 2000-10 heading Twentieth Television, is set as VP and General Manager of KTTV and KCOP. to head Fox’s O&O duopoly is Los Angeles. He has been hired as, taking up the post this month. Prior, he launched MBN Inc., an entertainment and consulting business and also was the EVP of CBS Enterprises and SVP at Sony’s Columbia TriStar Television.
Tanya Haider is the new EVP of Strategy Research & Ventures at Sesame Workshop. She was formerly Head of Global Licensing & Video Content Partnerships at ZeptoLab. Diana Lee has been named the EVP of HR at Sesame Workshop and was recruited from Al Jazeera America where she was also the EVP of HR.
Mike Stein has been upped from coordinator to director of development at Davis Entertainment.
Jill Underhill is the new SVP of On-Air Promotions at Crown Media Family Networks. She was previously the Creative Director at Buzz Creative which she also owned.
Management, PR, Agencies
Morris Bentata is now a Consultant for Keystone Law. Morris was previously a Partner at Sheridans.
Clayton Friedman is now a Partner at Sidley Austin. He was previously a Partner at Manatt at Phelps & Phillips LLP. Chad Hummel is now a Partner at Sidley Austin. He was formerly a Partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.
Abbie Harrison is now the Account Supervisor at DKC. Abbie was previously the Account Director at FerenComm.
Nannette LaFond-Dufour has been upped to chief client officer at McCann Worldgroup after previously serving as president of McCann Beauty Team. She was formerly the global business director at DDB Worldwide.
Communications and media agency Crossmedia has named Aaron Lewis CFO, a new position. Lewis was most recently global client finance director at Red Fuse.
Jaime Kelsall is now the VP of the Concerts Division at APA. Jaime was formerly an agent of music at the agency.
Brad Mendelsohn has been upped from Head of Lit to Partner and Head of Literary at Circle of Confusion.
Kobe Swanson is now the Sr. Unit Publicist at Crazy Talk. He was formerly the Sr. Manager of PR at The Chamber Group.
IPG Mediabrands has appointed John Sintras president of global development and product innovation, working in the agency network’s New York office. Sintras had previously been chairman at Starcom Mediavest Group.
Mira Yong has switched from Agent of Production & Literary at Gersh to Agent of Production & Motion Picture Literary at WME.
Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.
Independent marketing agency Giant Spoon appointed Veronica Brothwell as Senior Strategist. Prior she served as Brand and Creative Strategist at VITRO.
Huffington Post CEO Jimmy Maymann will now head AOL’s consumer brands and help launch Verizon’s upcoming SVOD service. Bob Lord, President of AOL, will have oversight of business-to-business, and Bill Pence, CTO, will head cutting edge tech investments in a new division dubbed Area 51.
Rod Phillips has been named head of iHeartCountry, a new country music-focused arm of radio company iHeartMedia. Phillips was previously iHeartMedia’s SVP of programming for the Southeast region.
Hearst Magazines has promoted Cosmopolitan’s Sarah Conly, naming her fashion market director at the magazine. Conly had been senior market editor.
The Huffington Post name a new CEO after it shifted CEO Jimmy Maymann to AOL’s consumer brands and to Verizon’s SVOD service. Jared Grusd will head the online news site. Grusd was most recently global head of corporate development and general counsel at Spotify.
Darren Seidel is the new EVP and CFO at Entertainment Partners. He was previously SVP of International Finance at Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group.
Jay Frank is now the SVP of Global Streaming Marketing of Universal Music Group. He previously founded DigSin and DigMark. Tremor Video named John Rego as their Chief Financial Officer. Previously he was the CFO of Virgin Galactic, and previously the Executive Vice President and CFO of Vonage Holdings Corp.
Steve Auer has been promoted from Manager to VP of Studio Operations at The Culver Studios. Jim Bass has also been promoted there from Director of Finance to VP. Likewise Abigail Zellmer has been upped from Director of Studio Relations & Business Development to VP of Sales & Marketing.
Programmatic advertising company RadiumOne has promoted Anna Baird to president, Dimitri Vaynblat to chief technology and data officer, Mike Werner to EVP of North American sales and Dave Zinman to COO. Baird had been chief financial officer and she’ll retain that position, while Vaynblat was SVP of data, optimization and product strategy. Werner was North America sales leader and Zinman chief product officer.