COMPANY LAUNCHES
IM Global Music: IM Global’s founder and CEO, Stuart Ford announced that leading independent feature-film and television financing, production and sales studio IM Global, a subsidiary of Reliance ADA, has made a strategic step into the music business with the launch of IM Global Music. The new venture is launched in partnership with veteran music industry executive David Schulhof who will serve as President and as a Partner of the New York and Los Angeles headquartered new business.
VICE Films: Fox and VICE Media have teamed up to launch VICE Films to develop, produce and distribute films from directors leveraged from VICE’s content creation initiatives. Using the best of both worlds, Fox will share its production and distribution capabilities while VICE Media will bring its new media skill set to the table.
The Media Entertainment Fund: Bona Film Group, China's largest private film distributor and film company chairman Yu Dong, private equity firm Tembusu Partners and Singapore media entrepreneur Calvin Cheng will together launch a $100M fund focused on China’s media and entertainment industry, based in Singapore. It's the first such non-Reminbi dominated fund to invest in China’s media and entertainment sector. The five-year fund is closed-ended and will be open to capital after March 31 when the fund is formalized.
Fox 21: Fox 21 and Fox Television Studios has been combined under the banner Fox 21 with offices not on the Fox lot, but in West LA that had been the home of Fox TV Studios. Bert Salke, who has headed the Fox 21 division since 2010, will serve as president of Fox 21 Television Studios. The restructuring was due to Fox TV Studios prexy David Madden’s shift to oversee programming for Fox Broadcasting Co.
Downtown Music Publishing/Rock Mafia: Songwriting and production team Rock Mafia has entered a joint venture with Downtown Music Publishing. Ryan O’Donnell will serve as VP of Creative and A&R.
STUDIOS, NETWORKS, AND MEDIA CONGLOMERATES
DreamWorks Animation Asia: DreamWorks Animation announced a new TV channel to broadcast to 19 Asian countries, excluding China. It will start airing in 2015 and pull from the company’s library of 2000 hours of already produced TV programming and 1200 hours of material currently in production like the upcoming All Hail King Julien in addition to 300 hours of content through their Netflix content deal. HBO Asia will operate the tech duties, sales and marketing.
Cablevision Systems: Former ad executive Mickey Paxton will be the new senior vice president and executive director of creative services at Cablevision in charge of the creative execution of Cablevision’s marketing and brand initiatives, including both internal and external creative services teams, ensuring consistent, cohesive communication. He will report to Matt Lake, Cablevision’s senior vice president of marketing and advertising.
Charter Communications: Jodi Robinson has been named Senior Vice President, User Experience Design and Development at Charter in Denver. She was formerly at Starz as Vice President of Internet and Interactive Technology.
Warner Bros.: Warner Bros. 20 year veteran Ed Romano has been promoted to the newly created post of Vice Chairman. He will work closely with CEO and Chairman Kevin Tsujihara and focus on what Tsujihara calls, “growth strategies for the Studio, including international expansion, digital transition and resource reallocation from mature businesses to high opportunity, content-creating divisions.” Kim Williams will be stepping in as the new CFO, making the leap to the WB after two years as the CFO at CORE Media Group.
FILM
ArsenalFX: Sean Starkweather will be the new creative director at ArsenalFX. He had been creative director at Stardust. Blumhouse Productions: Ryan Turek is the New Director of Development at Blumhouse, formerly an editor at Shock Till You Drop.
Cinedigm: Kristin Harris has been promoted from director to executive director of theatrical releasing at Cinedigm and will be reporting to evp of acquisitions Yolanda Macias. Harris will be in charge of Cinedigm’s growing focus on star-driven co-productions with label partners. She has played key roles in the acquisition of Short Term 12, Open Windows, and The Invisible War.
Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (Pact): Pact, the UK trade association representing and promoting the commercial interests of independent creative content producers, has elected current Executive Chair of Emerald Films, Sara Geater as the new Pact Chair from January 2015. Her career has spanned multiple platforms on both the business and creative ends. She was previously the CEO of FremantleMedia UK, Director of Rights and Business Affairs at the BBC, and Head of Production at Film Four.
Story Mining and Supply: Luke Parker Bowles has been named the head of production at Story and was previously the Executive Vice President, Production at Open Road Integrated Media.
Millennium Entertainment: Vincent Scordino is the new Senior Vice President, Marketing, Millennium Entertainment and was formerly at Cinedigm as the Senior Vice President, Theatrical Acquisitions and Releasing.
Mandeville Films: Noah Weinstein is the new Director of Development at Mandeville Films, previously held the same title at Schorr Pictures.
TELEVISION
CBS: Longtime NBC late-night exec Nick Bernstein its new VP Late Night Programming, West Coast for CBS. In the newly created post, he will serve both CBS Entertainment and CBS Television Studios. He will report to Nina Tassler, Chairman, CBS Entertainment, and David Stapf, President, CBS Television Studios.
CBS: Kimberly Godwin has been named senior broadcast producer of CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley on CBS, promoted from senior producer.)
AGENCIES, MANAGEMENT COMPANIES, PUBLIC RELATIONS, AND LAW FIRMS
OddLot Entertainment (OLE): Kevin Garrett Monroe has joined OddLot in the position of EVP of Business and Legal Affairs. Kevin has held key positions in Business and Legal Affairs at Focus Features/FilmDistrict as well as with Overture/Relativity and The Walt Disney Motion Picture Group.
UTA: Lisa Stein has been promoted to Director of Corporate Communications at UTA from manager. Atlas Entertainment: Producer Charles Roven is expanding Atlas to include a management subsidiary to be headed by veteran manager Dave Fleming. Fleming met Roven while working at The Gold/Miller Company (not to be confused with the Miller/Gold Agency). Roven has since worked for Miller at Mosaic Media Group.
Sucherman Consulting Group: 20 year veteran Richard Tackenberg has joined Sucherman, the premier advisory and executive search firm for the media and entertainment industries, as a Senior Consultant in its Los Angeles office. He will report to Jamie Waldron, Executive Vice President in charge of Executive Search and Sucherman’s LA Office.
Falco Ink:Julie Chappel has been named an account executive at Falco along with Monica Delamater. Both were promoted from the publicist position.
72andSunny: Martin Ringqvist will be serving as group creative director at MDC Partners' 72andSunny and be based in its flagship Los Angeles office. He was formerly a copywriter and senior partner at Swedish shop Forsman and Bodenfors, where he was a copywriter and senior partner. He is best known for the Volvo Jean Claude Van Damme online ad.
DDB: Worldwide marketing communications network DDB has named Jacques Blanchet group account director at DDB Canada, and Arnaud Deneux and Arnaud Tartier as art directors.
Warner Bros. Pictures: Ernie Johnston has been promoted from Vice President to Senior Vice President, Promotions and Field Publicity at Warner Bros. Pictures.
CABLE
Fusion: The millennial-focused cable channel and digital media outlet, Fusion, has hired four new staffers: Hillary Frey, currently editorial director for NBCNews.com, to serve as its new director of global news operations, former NBC News senior editor Danielle Friedman will oversee coverage of health, sex and relationships,writer and stand-up comedian Akilah Hughes, will write and produce videos under director of culture coverage Dodai Stewart, and documentary filmmaker Orlando de Guzman is joining Fusion's breaking news video team as a shooter and producer, working with Tim Pool.
E!: John Najarian was tapped to be the executive vice president of news and digital with additional oversight of the network’s news division and E! News series, and will continue to head its digital operations. Jen Neal was also named executive vice president of marketing for E! Entertainment and Esquire Network. In addition to her existing responsibilities as head of E! marketing she will now oversee branding and marketing for Esquire Network. Fox News: Kevin Corke has been named Washington D.C. correspondent at Fox News, snapped up from NBC News where he was the White House correspondent. NBC News: Janelle Rodriguez has been named senior vice president, editorial, at NBC News, she had formerly been the vice president, programming, at CNN.
ABC Family: Kenny Miller is the new Senior Vice President, Digital Programming and Product, ABC Family.
Pivot: Kelsey Balance is now the manager of original programming at Pivot.
Starz: Brian Huggins is the new Vice President, Finance at Starz. Sue Provan is now the Vice President of Accounting. Lionsgate: David Luner is the new Executive Vice President handling Worldwide TV Marketing at Lionsgate.
WEtv: Suzanne Gladstone Murch is the newVice President, Original Programming, Angela Molloy is the new Vice President of Development and David Stefanou is the new Vice President of Development in the New York offices.
Nickelodeon: Gerald Raines has been named the Senior Vice President, Recreation Business Development, Nickelodeon up from the Vice President position.
MUSIC
UMG’s Capitol Music Group: Jennie Boddy and Erin Cooney will serve as the new VPs of Publicity after the department’s restructuring.
Universal Music Group: Mike Tunnicliffe has been tapped to be the new EVP of Business Developments and Partnerships. Tunnicliffe was previously Chief Growth and Marketing Officer at GroupM.
ADVERTISING
The Marketing Arm: Greg Gibson has been named business development manager at The Marketing Arm, a marketing and promotions agency owned by Omnicom Group. He was formerly the business development manager at Marchex. MDC's CP&B: Veteran Wieden and Kennedy Creative Director Kevin Jones has been named the top creative in CPandB’s Los Angeles office, which works on accounts such as Charles Schwab, and Grey Poupon. As executive creative director, Mr. Jones will run creative for the L.A. office without a co-executive creative director as CCO Rob Reilly left last year, and the agency decided not to fill his post. Earlier this year, CPandB won the massive global Infiniti account and will open an office in China to aid in facilitations.