The home entertainment industry is filled with smart, strategic teams that support the captains of the big studios and streamers.
Additionally, there are many other talented women leaders at independent content distributors; digital retailers who sell and rent movies, TV shows and other filmed content; streaming services; technology companies; and ancillary service providers.
Here are some of the standouts.
SEE ALSO: WOMEN IN HOME ENTERTAINMENT 2022 — THE CAPTAINS
Amazon
Lauren Anderson
Head of AVOD Original Content and Programming, Amazon Studios
Anderson oversees all programming, including creative development, production, licensing, scheduling, research, and strategy for Amazon Freevee and Prime Video’s ad-supported FAST linear channels. Additionally, Anderson recently assumed responsibility for the unscripted programming strategy across all of Amazon Studios, including SVOD and AVOD programming. She joined Amazon Studios in 2019 as the head of strategic content, managing such series as the “Savage X Fenty Show” for Prime Video. In 2020 she became co-head of content and programming for IMDb TV (now Freevee). Early accomplishments for Freevee included bringing the iconic Judge Judy Sheindlin to a streaming audience, shepherding Amazon’s first partnership with prolific creator Dick Wolf — his only half-hour crime procedural — and developing the AVOD spinoff of Prime Video’s longest-running series, “Bosch.” Before joining Amazon, Anderson was the chief content officer for Indigo Development and Entertainment Arts, the joint venture studio between NBCUniversal and Snapchat.
Julie Rapaport
Head of Movies, Amazon Studios
Rapaport leads the studio’s division focused on producing and acquiring a wide variety of high-quality, culturally relevant films for Prime Video’s global audience. She and the original movies team recently released and celebrated the critical and commercial success of films such as the Oscar-nominated Lucille Ball biopic Being the Ricardos, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, George Clooney’s coming-of-age drama The Tender Bar, the Chris Pratt-led action feature The Tomorrow War, and Coming 2 America starring Eddie Murphy. Some upcoming releases for Rapaport and her team include My Policeman, starring Harry Styles, the feature documentary Good Night Oppy, and The People We Hate at the Wedding. Prior to joining Amazon Studios in 2015, Rapaport worked at The Weinstein Company, where she rose to SVP of production and development.
Kelly Day
VP, International, Prime Video
Day serves as the leader for Prime Video’s SVOD, TVOD, and Channels businesses in all locales outside the United States. Overseeing a team of regional and country managers around the world, Day drives the content strategies, greenlights, and launches of Amazon Original movies and series across international. Prior to joining Amazon in 2022, Day served as president of streaming for ViacomCBS Networks International (now Paramount Global), where she was responsible for the international rollout and growth of Paramount+ and Pluto.
Marie Donoghue
VP, Global Sports Video
Donoghue oversees Prime Video’s global sports content business. She leads its global sports strategy, identifying and evaluating new opportunities, overseeing acquisitions, programming and production, and enabling customers to access original and live sports content on hundreds of devices in more than 240 countries and territories. This content includes Premier League in the United Kingdom, UEFA Champions League in Germany and Italy (U.K. starting in 2024), ONE Championship (United States and Canada), and the WNBA. Donoghue led the groundbreaking acquisition and production of “Thursday Night Football,” marking the first time a streaming service aired an exclusive national broadcast package from the NFL. Prior to joining Amazon, Donoghue was at ESPN for more than 18 years.
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Blu Digital Group
Paulette Pantoja
CEO
Pantoja founded Blu Digital Group in 2007, focusing on quality control for film and TV content distributed on physical media. The company has since created proprietary workflows and patented applications as a solution for content owners and platforms to deliver streaming content. Pantoja’s expansion of the localization division within Blu in 2021 further broadened the company’s ability to deliver international content to audiences around the world. She is an Ernst & Young Greater Los Angeles Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 finalist and this year is being honored with DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group’s Hedy Lamarr Award for Innovation in Entertainment.
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BritBox International
Reemah Sakaan
CEO
Sakaan heads up the BBC and ITV backed streaming service and is responsible for the overall strategy and operations of BritBox globally, leading a world-class team over multiple regions. In her short tenure as CEO thus far, Sakaan has already implemented several global initiatives focused on a cohesive strategy across all territories. Having worked on growing the partnership between ITV and BBC since the beginning, Sakaan was responsible for the creation of the BritBox brand and global concept. Before becoming CEO, she served as chief creative officer for BritBox Global as well as the group director of SVOD for ITV, launching BritBox in the United Kingdom in November of 2019 and serving as a pivotal part of the leadership team behind BritBox Australia. Prior to this, she spent 18 months living in New York where she oversaw the growth of BritBox U.S. subscribers and worked on the expansion of BritBox into Canada in February 2018. Throughout her career at BritBox, Sakaan has greenlighted an impressive and ever-growing list of original commissions, including “The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco,” the revival of “Spitting Image” and “The Beast Must Die,” as well as the upcoming “Magpie Murders,” “Crime” and “A Spy Among Friends.”
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Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment
Amanda Edwards
SVP and Chief of Staff
Edwards is instrumental in the fluid operations, strategy and communications for the fast-growing company. She is the right-hand to the CEO and has been with the company for more than 10 years. Edwards supported the company through its IPO in 2017 and has been integral in every merger and acquisition transaction including the company’s acquisitions of Redbox, Crackle and Screen Media. Prior to her role as SVP and chief of staff, she worked for the company in a variety of roles in marketing, sales and social media. Prior to joining Chicken Soup, Edwards worked as a request-for-proposal writer for Clearbrook Investment Consulting and as a coordinator of sponsor management for dLife, a diabetes lifestyle and media company. Skilled in communications, strategy, operations and marketing, Edwards has also been published in five Chicken Soup for the Soul titles.
Elana Sofko
Chief Strategy Officer
Sofko joined Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment in 2016 as the SVP of business development and distribution, and was named chief operating officer in 2017. She brings more than two decades of media and entertainment experience, always on the leading edge of innovation. Prior to joining Chicken Soup, Sofko focused on a range of digital business growth initiatives for World Wrestling Entertainment, including international expansion and localization of WWE’s digital properties, as well as supporting the launch and international expansion of WWE Network, a subscription-based OTT service. Sofko worked on the launch of satellite radio as part of the start-up team at the company now called SiriusXM, and has overseen strategic growth initiatives at ESPN, Nokia, News Corp. and A&E Television Networks.
Dara Cohen
VP, Scripted Entertainment, Chicken Soup for the Soul Television Group
Cohen is a producer and executive with more than 20 years of experience in development, production and programming. She has worked in development at The Mark Gordon Company, Red Hour Films, Revolution Studios, USA Network, CourtTV, Island/Def Jam Records, Maker Studios and A+E Studios. She has collaborated with writers, directors, actors, producers, top recording artists and social media influencers to create engaging content across all platforms. She has extensive experience in sourcing material and IP, negotiating rights, and overseeing development through production and delivery of projects. While at CourtTV she developed, secured deficit financing, staffed writers and directors, and produced the network’s first scripted series, “Til Death Do Us Part.” She has produced 13 movies with the USA Network and Syfy channel, and executive produced Ring of Fire for Lifetime (nominated for four Emmys), “House of Joy” for NuvoTV, and the digital series “The Temp Agency” for Vuguru.
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Cinedigm
Kim Staruk
SVP, Marketing
Staruk oversees the general partner relationships along with the overall business strategy for Cinedigm’s films. She is also responsible for managing and executing marketing and media across multiple channels to elevate the profile of each release. This also includes developing strategic partnerships and programs across all of Cinedigm’s distributing platforms, including digital, streaming, physical media and Cinedigm’s owned-and-operated digital networks. Prior to joining Cinedigm, Staruk spent six years at Universal Music Group Distribution/Vivendi Entertainment, and two years at Sony in SPT International Production.
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Crackle
Michele Fino
Head of Branded Entertainment, Crackle Plus
A creative storyteller, Fino combines personal narratives with business objectives to create branded stories. She partners with like-minded organizations who embrace both action-driven content and innovative media distribution. Her career journey includes branded entertainment at a global productions company, content strategy at a national retailer, and marketing at various highly regarded nonprofits, including The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Her superpower is mixing the detailed intricacies of content production with the complex KPIs of a brand and sprinkling in the power of right time and right audience with the right platform partner.
Jennifer Gale
VP, Advanced Video Ad Sales and Brand Partnerships, Crackle Plus
Gale helps companies reach their customers in new and innovative ways within the AVOD space. She is responsible for media sales for Crackle Plus’s leading owned-and-operated ad-supported OTT networks Crackle, Popcornflix and Chicken Soup for the Soul, along with sales rights for a growing portfolio of premium streaming services including Redbox, Crunchyroll and Plex, combining to create one of the largest at-scale inventory sources for long-form OTT video. Additionally, Gale is responsible for driving custom branded entertainment sponsorships and integrating leading brands into original series, distributed at scale within the company’s streaming TV services.
Beth Galli
Regional Director Sales, East, Crackle Plus
Galli has 15-plus years of experience in the advertising business with strong agency and client relationships, developing a proven track record for increasing revenue and generating new business. Galli has been at Crackle Plus for more than three years. Prior to joining Crackle Plus, she spent 16 years at Scripps Networks, working as an account executive at HGTV and the DIY Network.
Kelly Burke Hopkins
VP, Sales Development and Advertising, Crackle Plus
Hopkins has more than 20 years of experience with marketing, media, brand content strategy, partnerships, programmatic, agency collaboration and client service. She is responsible for all ad solutions, focused on go-to-market, as well as custom solutions across Crackle Plus’s vast array of originals and premium video partnership sales strategy. For the past eight years she has specialized in OTT and video sales, with tenures at Yume (now Tremor), BuzzFeed, and currently Crackle Plus. Her career began on the agency side in a digital-media buying capacity.
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DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group
Marcy Magiera
Executive Director
An industry veteran who set editorial direction in coverage of digital media and entertainment at industry trades Advertising Age, Video Business and Variety, Magiera became executive director of DEG in 2020 after working with the trade group in a series of progressively more responsible positions. She curates DEG’s newsletter, The DEN, four days a week and leads event programming and production. She played a key role in DEG’s pivot to online events at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, programming at least 15 virtual events per year in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, she assumed responsibility for DEG’s return to in-person events, with a hybrid strategy in which virtual events also continue. Magiera produced DEG’s inaugural EnTech Fest, a B2B trade and networking event in Los Angeles in which technology companies presented innovative products and services to DEG studio and platform members. She leads the team planning EnTech Fest 2023, scheduled for March 29.
Andi Elliott
Director, Sales and Membership Services
As DEG’s sales and sponsorship leader, Elliott brings new members to DEG and helps member companies make the most of their membership benefits. Since she joined the organization in 2017, DEG expanded its membership base to 90 member companies, the most in the group’s history. Elliott also creates opportunities for branding and exposure for members through sponsorship and branding at events. Elliott is an industry veteran whose previous positions include sales director for Video Business magazine, conference sales manager at Variety and stints at Warner Home Video, 20th Century Fox and various independent labels.
Jean Levicki
Director, Community and Member Programs
Levicki oversees the Direct-to-Consumer Alliance (D2CA), a working community of DEG member companies focused on the DTC offering. She leads the Alliance’s AVOD Innovation Group; its Targeted Services and TV & Connected Devices committees; and the LIVE Sports Council (currently in development). She also manages the organization’s Marketing and Communications (MARCOM) and Digital Finance & Accounting (DFAC) committees and is involved in the development and execution of DEG events. Prior to joining DEG, Levicki was with 20 Century Fox Home Entertainment, where she held positions in international and global publicity.
Beka Sturm
Senior Project Manager
Sturm oversees the technical committees within DEG’s Advanced Content Delivery Alliance. This includes the Localization and Supply Chain Efficiency & Security Committees, which are creating shared industry resources and socializing best practices in a variety of mediums and topic areas. Most recently, Sturm worked across DEG supply chain member companies to coordinate the second annual, and first in-person, DEG TechOps Awards. Before joining DEG, Sturm worked as a producer in television and film.
DEGI
Liz Bales
Chief Executive, DEGI: The Digital Entertainment Group International/The British Association for Screen Entertainment
Bales has been a key part of the home entertainment industry for more than a decade. She is a driving force for digital and transactional home entertainment across the globe. In her role as chief executive of The British Association for Screen Entertainment, she champions the transactional home entertainment category in the United Kingdom, both physical and digital, playing a key role in maximizing growth and opportunities for the category and confronting the factors that may impede it. She also transmits the message of the DEGI — sister organization to the U.S. DEG — taking the best-practice initiatives and learnings into multiple territories worldwide, including managing campaigns across The Nordics, Germany and France in the past year. She leans into and supports existing in-territory bodies or manages processes where there are not. From cross-industry events and collaboration to growth campaigns that then travel the world via the DEGI, Bales is the leading voice of these two best-in-class trade bodies that empower both the United Kingdom and international markets.
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Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, Platform Distribution
Lori B. LeBas
EVP, Platform Distribution Operations
As head of the business operations team for Platform Distribution, LeBas supports the development and distribution of products and services that create meaningful value for the company, its partners and its consumers. The business unit manages all third-party media sales efforts for distribution, affiliate marketing and affiliate-related business operations for all of the company’s direct-to-consumer services and linear media networks; content sales agreements for General Entertainment, Studios and Sports, as well as global theatrical film distribution; and management of Disney’s iconic El Capitan Theatre and the Disney Music Group. LeBas is focused on the design and implementation of business processes for efficient management and operation of all media distribution, including linear networks, SVOD, AVOD, transactional, syndication, audio and direct-to-consumer products. LeBas also leads the creation of cross-functional business requirements for new products, as well as oversight of all post-sales processes for content distribution across all platforms.
Lindsey Green
SVP, Content Sales
Green is responsible for licensing feature films and television content from Disney Studios Content and Disney General Entertainment. The lines of business that fall under her purview include domestic and global SVOD and AVOD platforms, West Coast-based cable networks and select pay-TV networks. She and her team also manage the company’s distribution of content to its direct-to-consumer streaming services — Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu — and its linear networks. Her client roster includes Amazon, YouTube, Starz, Roku and Tubi, to name a few.
Christen Harris
SVP, Platform Distribution Sales
Lauren Morrissey
SVP, Platform Distribution Sales
Harris and Morrissey negotiate key licensing agreements on behalf of the company across a wide array of media platforms and businesses, including domestic multichannel subscription distribution and global direct-to-consumer platforms. Among these substantial, high-profile agreements managed by their teams are in-home TVOD and direct-to-consumer app penetration among digital aggregators, MVPDs, devices, wireless providers and social media applications. They also pursue and negotiate wholesale marketing partnerships for the company’s direct-to-consumer streaming services. Between the two of them, they oversee more than 100 key accounts, such as Apple, Comcast, Google, Roku and Verizon.
Rebecca Black, VP, Business Affairs
Summer Imai, VP, Rights and Content Management
Brooke A. Johnson, VP, Platform Distribution Sales
Jane Kim, VP, Distribution Planning Analysis and Commercial Affairs
Ann Lee, VP, Distribution Planning and Analysis
Jennifer Lourie, VP, Product Management
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Disney Streaming Services/Disney+
Alisa Bowen
President, Disney+
Promoted to her current position in September, Bowen has led global business operations for Disney’s streaming platforms, including Disney+ since its launch in 2019. In this new position, Bowen will work closely with key leaders across The Walt Disney Co. for the forthcoming launch of the advertising-supported subscription-streaming tier, as well as multi-channel promotional support for Disney+ and its content slate. She most recently served as EVP of global business operations for Disney Streaming, overseeing the content and business operations, business development and planning, program management, and viewer experience functions for The Walt Disney Co.’s direct-to-consumer video streaming businesses, including Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ and Star+. Bowen joined Disney in 2017 as SVP, CTO and digital media lead for The Walt Disney Co.’s international operations, where she led a transformation of the Disney channel’s broadcast technology, content operations, and digital publishing across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Asia Pacific and Latin America.
Jaya Kolhatkar
EVP of Data, Disney Streaming Services
Kolhatkar oversees customer intelligence and all data- and analytics-related efforts at Disney Streaming. In her role, she is responsible for elevating customer intelligence, implementing strong data governance, and driving a culture of objective, data-driven decision-making. Kolhatkar previously served as the SVP of global data and analytics platforms at WalmartLabs, where she built data and analytic platforms that provided data and tools for making business decisions at Walmart. Kolhatkar joined WalmartLabs in 2013 as part of the acquisition of predictive analytics firm Inkiru, where she was the chief analytics officer and co-founder. Kolhatkar has also worked in analytics roles at PayPal, eBay and Amazon.
Molly Brady
SVP, Growth Marketing, Disney Streaming Services
Brady, who previously served as VP of customer acquisition, is responsible for growing the company’s streaming subscriber base. Prior to joining Disney, she worked at American Express, IBM and Bloomingdale’s. During her career, Brady has partnered with top brands, including Facebook, Instagram, Google, Credit Karma, Nerdwallet, Delta, Starwood and JetBlue to deliver unique products and marketing programs. She has expertise in display media, social media, paid search, SEO, affiliate, site marketing, email, offline channels, new customer acquisition, product management and consulting.
April Carretta
Head of Communications, Direct to Consumer
Carretta leads communications globally for Disney’s direct-to-consumer video streaming businesses. She oversees proactive and integrated communications, including consumer, content publicity, international, crisis communications, and incident management, as well as internal employee communications. Carretta joined Disney in 2019 through its acquisition of 20th Century Fox. She initially led communications for Disney’s Platform Distribution organization, playing a key role in shaping communications across all third-party media sales efforts for distribution, content sales agreements, affiliate marketing for direct-to-consumer services and linear media networks, global theatrical film distribution, and other Disney properties including Disney Music Group and the El Capitan Theatre.
Andrea Roxas
VP, Content Planning and Scheduling, Disney+
Roxas is responsible for determining the premiere and release strategy for content on Disney+ in partnership with programming and marketing teams around the world. Roxas joined The Walt Disney Co. in 2011 as an editor for the Disney Digital Network. Prior to working on Disney+, Roxas led content strategy and programming for Disney’s digital portfolio of brands targeting millennial and family audiences, including Oh My Disney, Disney Style Guide, Disney Family and Babble.
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Dolby
Ayisha Emerson
Business Manager, Content
Emerson is a business development professional at Dolby, where she is a content industry strategist helping to steer Dolby’s roadmap across traditional and emerging content categories. Having started with a focus on television production and streaming, Emerson now also leads the global business strategy for podcast content creation to inspire and expand the creative palette with Dolby Atmos. Previously, Emerson started her career in film at studios such as 20th Century Fox, Disney and DreamWorks Animation, and most recently worked at Quibi. Emerson is continuously pushing the convergence of entertainment and technology to better the consumer experience.
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Fandango
Eileen Rivera
Senior Director of Production and Development, Rotten Tomatoes
Rivera heads up all video development and production for Rotten Tomatoes, part of NBCUniversal’s Fandango portfolio. Her team is responsible for the creative execution of all original video content across OTT, online, YouTube and social channels (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram). Rivera successfully spearheaded the launch of the Rotten Tomatoes OTT/FAST channels, featuring 24/7 linear programming available on Peacock, Roku, Samsung TV and Xumo TV. The production team continues to further the companies’ content reach by helping produce and program more than a dozen originally produced shows and nearly 600 hours of premium long- and short-form video content.
Alejandra Brizuela
VP of Product Management, User Experience and User Interface
Brizuela directs all product management and user experience, user interface functions across Fandango’s home entertainment, ticketing, e-commerce, and publishing portfolios, including Vudu, Fandango, Flixster, and Rotten Tomatoes. She oversees products that reach more than 60 million monthly consumers in the United States and abroad. Throughout her career, Brizuela has successfully shaped and launched best-in-class experiences across iOS, Android, Web and TV applications. A native of Argentina, Brizuela has held roles at top e-commerce subscription services such as Disney Mobile, eHarmony and eSalon.
Kristine Lopes
Director of Integrated Marketing, Vudu
With more than 20 years of experience in marketing, sales, strategic planning and execution, Lopes leads integrated marketing for Vudu, Fandango’s leading on-demand streaming service. Lopes has been a marketing guru and instrumental part of the Vudu family since 2014, prior to its acquisition by Fandango. As a resourceful veteran of the home entertainment business, Lopes develops comprehensive business plans and works cross-functionally to drive marketing campaigns, go-to-market capabilities and partnership opportunities. Prior to her work at Vudu, Lopes was the senior manager of customer engagement for Advanced Auto Parts, online marketing manager for Symantec, and product marketing manager for Bank of the West.
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Giant Interactive
Meri Hassouni
EVP, Global Business Development
Hassouni is an entertainment executive with 20-plus years of industry experience and has pivoted with the industry as it evolved from physical media to digital media, to the growth of streaming platforms, AVOD and FAST channels. Hassouni has played an instrumental role in the significant growth of Giant (recently acquired by Testronic Labs) on the studio side as well as on the servicing side, working with independent distributors to deliver content and execute channel launches in the TVOD, SVOD and AVOD spaces. She was responsible for negotiating the preferred vendor relationship with Pluto, resulting in Giant’s collaboration with 50-plus Pluto partners and delivery of 1,000-plus hours of content monthly for clients, including BBC, AMC, Toei Animation and PBS. Hassouni has been a member of DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group since 1999, and when the Canon Club expanded in 2019, she became the vice chair of that DEG organization.
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Google/YouTube
Christina Kim
Head of AVOD Licensing/FAST and TVOD, YouTube and Google TV
Kim oversees business development and partnerships for AVOD licensing/FAST for YouTube as well as Google’s transactional movies and TV (on YouTube and Google TV). Before joining Google in 2014, Kim worked in content acquisition at Amazon and PlayStation Video.
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Hulu
Barrie Gruner
EVP, Marketing and Publicity, Hulu Originals
Gruner oversees marketing strategy, creative, events, media, social and communications for all Hulu original series (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Nine Perfect Strangers,” “The Kardashians,” “Only Murders in the Building,” etc.). Since joining Hulu in 2013, she has helped guide the company from plucky challenger to established player. She drove both communications and the awards strategy that helped launch “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which went on to dominate the 2017 Emmy Awards, including the award for Outstanding Drama Series that cemented Hulu in history as the first streaming platform to take home the prestigious honor. Over the past year, Gruner led marketing campaigns for several marquee titles, including “Only Murders in the Building,” leading it to become the most-watched comedy in Hulu history, and “The Kardashians,” leading it to become the most-watched unscripted series and premiere in Hulu history.
Reagan Feeney
SVP, Live-TV Content Programming and Partnerships
Feeney is responsible for setting the vision and strategic direction for live-TV distribution, including managing partnerships with national channels, regional sports networks and local broadcast affiliates. Her team also leads the strategy and execution of live news, sports, events and programming made available for Hulu on-demand subscribers, along with premium add-ons, ESPN+ on Hulu, and ABC News Live specials. Previously, Feeney was VP of content at AT&T’s DirecTV, where she was responsible for identifying and negotiating general entertainment and sports programming acquisitions, as well as maintaining external business relationships for linear cable channels, out-of-market sports subscription packages, regional sports networks and on-demand sports content.
Lauren Tempest
SVP, Content Partnerships, Acquisitions, Scheduling
Tempest leads the department that manages Hulu’s robust content portfolio across TV, film, kids and family, anime, and currents, through third-party acquisitions and in close partnership with The Walt Disney Co.’s content studio, and then strategically schedules title launches to showcase the breadth, depth and exclusivity that Hulu uniquely offers. She previously served as VP of content partnerships, and led Hulu’s licensed-television acquisitions group. She first joined Hulu in 2015, after working for six years at NBCUniversal’s USA Network.
Angie Kang Park
Deputy Chief Counsel
Park oversees legal matters for all areas across the company, including content, content acquisition, Hulu + Live TV, product and marketing. Since starting at Hulu about a decade ago, Park has led numerous high-profile deals and initiatives that have grown Hulu’s content library to include some of the most in-demand premium content in the market. Over the past two years Park has played an instrumental role in Hulu’s efforts to bring unique content, pricing and promotional offerings to the Hulu service. She oversaw the launch of the NFL Network on the service and led deals for on-demand content such as Nomadland and The United States vs. Billie Holiday, which won six Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award, respectively.
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Level 33 Entertainment
Alisa Bunting
SVP, Marketing and Product Management
Bunting manages all content onboarding, platform marketing and product management. She has overseen the releases of more than 100 independent feature films across all windows from physical product to the ever-evolving world of video on demand. Bunting excels at everything from interacting with independent filmmakers and sales agents to managing external vendors and platform partners. She maintains a positive attitude and rises to the occasion with any challenge presented across a diverse slate of content delivered to a growing global consumer base. Bunting’s keen sense of the marketplace helps drive the visibility of Level 33 content over the multitude of entertainment outlets, platforms and channels that make up the modern distribution landscape. Prior to joining Level 33 in 2012, Bunting served as director of marketing and operations at Playboy Entertainment Group. She began her career at The Walt Disney Co. in the Buena Vista Home Video division working on brand marketing for Touchstone/Hollywood Pictures product.
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Lionsgate
Chase Brisbin
EVP, International Television and Digital Distribution
Brisbin leads the international SVOD and AVOD distribution team at Lionsgate, focused on strategy and sales across all content types, including TV and film, both library and first run. Her focus is to navigate and shape the company’s approach to an expanding international marketplace as heavyweights and newcomer services compete. Recently, Brisbin negotiated new creative deal structures on Pay 1 and Pay 2 outputs and packages in response to the pandemic. She joined Lionsgate in 2012 and has negotiated some of its most innovative deals.
Kate Nexon
EVP, Domestic Television and Digital Distribution
A 13-year Lionsgate veteran, Nexon is responsible for licensing the studio’s TV and film properties across AVOD, SVOD and linear platforms. She leads domestic sales, overseeing strategic planning and execution of multi-platform initiatives. In the past year she negotiated the sale of the Emmy-award winning series “Schitt’s Creek” to Hulu and played an integral role in the sales of “The Continental” to Peacock, hit comedy “Ghosts” to Paramount+, and Lionsgate’s Pay 2 theatrical output deals with NBCUniversal and Roku, as well as a multiyear film deal with Tubi.
Susan Posner
EVP, International Sales Strategy and Planning
Posner was promoted to EVP in April. She oversees a hub of sales and operations planners who help the team manage inventory, including the growing number of output deals and go-to-market on broad strategic initiatives. A consummate team player, she works closely with marketing, research, legal, rights and other teams to strategize and communicate the plans for Lionsgate’s healthy film and TV slates. Since joining in 2019 after 11 years at MGM, she has helped negotiate some key title reversions for the team to sell, leading to additional sales.
Jill Anderson
SVP, Home Entertainment Sales
Anderson leads Lionsgate’s home entertainment packaged-media business for retail’s largest accounts. She continually challenges herself and her team to drive higher reach and scale for Lionsgate’s 17,000-title film and TV library as well as for its world-class film business. Anderson is a consummate team player who is driven by continual learning and growth, leading by example, mentoring others within her network, and giving back to the community. She’s extremely proud to be a 19-year veteran of Lionsgate’s entrepreneurial culture, its commitment to innovation, and its passion for bold, original, relatable entertainment.
Jennifer Caprow
SVP, Domestic Sales Strategy and Planning
Born and raised in California, Caprow graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, before joining Lionsgate in 2011. Starting as a sales planning coordinator in the TV Distribution Group, she is now an integral member of the executive team and was recently promoted into her present position after serving for two years as VP of sales planning and TV distribution, and, before that, executive director. She collaborates with teams across Lionsgate and is constantly engaged with how the ever-changing TV/streaming landscape evolves.
Erin Carter
SVP, Marketing
Carter is a 14-year veteran of Lionsgate and predecessor company Anchor Bay, part of the studio’s acquisition of Starz. She oversees the marketing and distribution strategy for Lionsgate’s 17,000-title film and television library, one of the largest in the world. She continues to be at the forefront of content licensing initiatives to an expanding array of new and traditional buyers around the world. Carter also spearheads content lifecycle planning for Lionsgate’s distribution partners, including Roadside Attractions, Grindstone Entertainment and A&E Television. She joined Lionsgate in 2017 from Anchor Bay, where she spent a decade leading the company’s strategy for its independent theatrical releases.
Kenya Hart
SVP, Procurement and Inventory Operations
Hart oversees the daily operations of the materials management, inventory reconciliation and procurement/demand planning teams to ensure timely finished good product delivery in support of new-release, catalog and promotion deadlines for U.S. and Canadian distribution. As the SAP super user/departmental systems manager, she works closely with IT to test, implement and validate systemic upgrades and enhancements. Additionally, she handles cost analysis and business acquisition onboarding.
Amelia McPartlon Rogers
SVP, Marketing, Global Content Strategy
Rogers oversees overall marketing strategy in the limited theatrical and digital distribution space. She leads her teams to develop a full 360-degree marketing strategy for Lionsgate’s entire limited theatrical and multi-platform release slate, as well as for the company’s vast library and third-party distribution companies.
Kathy Arendain, VP, Digital Strategy and Engagement
Lauren Bixby, VP, Acquisitions
Maria Chung, VP, Digital Creative
Tiffany Olivares Girardi, VP, Global Earned and Media Communications
Lindsay Lefrancois, VP, Procurement
Kara McKinney, VP, Global AVOD
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Movies Anywhere
Elissa Brown
VP, Business Operations
Brown leads day-to-day operations, developing and executing key business and platform strategies to drive growth and deliver operational efficiencies across all facets of Movies Anywhere. This includes finance, strategy, business development, partner management, business intelligence/analytics, customer care and program management.
Beth K. Baier
Assistant Chief Counsel
Baier leads all day-to-day legal and business affairs matters and serves as the senior legal advisor to the company’s business teams. She actively participates in legal analysis, modeling, negotiations and drafting of new strategic business models and high-profile deals involving emerging digital-distribution technologies, distribution platforms, technical operations and marketing strategies. She was instrumental in developing the product’s Screen Pass and co-viewing features that were launched during the pandemic, including advising on compliant functionalities, business rules, branding and consumer messaging. Baier also provides legal support for new business strategies for the Disney Digital Media team, including FAST channels, e-commerce initiatives and search engine optimization.
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Paramount Pictures
Melinda Froelich
SVP, International Marketing, Paramount Home Entertainment
Froelich is responsible for international marketing, advertising, public relations, promotions and the release strategy for all transactional windows post theatrical. She also oversees global marketing for all worldwide television partners. Froelich joined the studio in 2005, having previously worked at The Walt Disney Co. for eight years.
Hilarie Hildebrandt
SVP, Digital Customer Marketing, Paramount Home Entertainment
Hildebrandt oversees customer marketing for global digital accounts with a focus on aligning strategic initiatives across new-release, catalog and television product, optimizing the retailer execution of joint home entertainment transactional and Paramount+ streaming efforts. Hildebrandt and her team’s responsibilities include executing multinational consumer-focused programs with each retail client to maximize sales and leverage the continually evolving digital retail environment to ensure Paramount and its partners reach their core objectives. Hildebrandt previously served as VP of retail marketing at 20th Century Fox and also held sales director positions at Fox and Polygram Filmed Entertainment in Canada.
Alanna Powers
SVP, Brand Marketing, Paramount Home Entertainment
Powers leads the division’s global marketing strategies, product development, and management of new releases, acquisitions and library titles. She and her teams develop campaigns for physical and digital distribution channels that align with cross-divisional partners to maximize the studio’s full portfolio of titles. Prior to joining Paramount, Powers held senior marketing positions at Redbox and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment after starting her career at FCB.
Aubrey Thomason
SVP, Business Affairs and Legal, Paramount Pictures
Thomason’s primary focuses are acquisitions for distribution primarily through television and home entertainment channels, related security agreements, interparty agreements and theatrical services agreements, as well as domestic video sublicensing matters. Prior to joining Paramount, Thomason from 2000 to 2005 was an associate at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, where she primarily worked on corporate finance and real estate transactions, but also served as outside counsel to Paramount Pictures between 2003 and 2005.
Nancy Pope
SVP, Human Resources, Paramount Pictures
Pope is responsible for supporting the home entertainment, theatrical marketing and TV licensing divisions. Early in her career she worked for AT&T as both an operations manager and HR professional. Upon earning her master’s degree in industrial psychology, Pope left AT&T and joined Nestle USA, where she became the director of training and development. In 1999 she joined EMI Music North America to become the VP of human resources, and in 2007 she joined Paramount Pictures. For the past several years Pope has been involved in various nonprofit organizations and most recently has become a member of the Jewish Family Service’s Board of Los Angeles, which is a multi-service agency with the goal of strengthening and preserving individual, family and community life by providing a wide range of needed human services to people in the community.
Erin Carey, VP, Digital Distribution, Paramount Home Entertainment
Boh Clancy, VP, Digital Distribution, Asia Pacific, Paramount Home Entertainment
Rachel Crang, VP, Worldwide Production Management, Paramount Home Entertainment
Micol Green, VP, Legal Affairs, Paramount Home Entertainment
Sandra Hiestand, VP, Sales Planning and Reporting, Paramount Home Entertainment
Michele Rumain, VP, Advertising (Media), Paramount Pictures
Pamela Sivula, VP, Financial Planning, Paramount Pictures
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Paramount Streaming/Paramount+ /Pluto TV
Nicole Clemens
President of Paramount Television Studios and Paramount+ Original Scripted Series
Clemens joined PTVS in 2018 and added the Paramount+ position to her portfolio in 2021. Her primary responsibility at Paramount+ is to shepherd original series and formulate programming strategy for the streaming platform. Paramount+ projects include the global hit series “Halo,” “The Offer” and the “Star Trek” franchise — “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” “Star Trek: Picard” and “Star Trek: Discovery” — as well as “SEAL Team,” “Evil,” “The Good Fight” and “The Game.” Upcoming series include “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies,” “Fatal Attraction,” “Rabbit Hole” and “Criminal Minds.” In addition, as president of PTVS, Clemens oversees a robust slate of shows for buyers across multiple platforms, including Emmy Nominated “Station Eleven” for HBO Max; “Reacher” and “Jack Ryan” for Amazon Prime; “American Gigolo” for Showtime; “Defending Jacob,” “Shantaram” and “Time Bandits” for Apple TV+; and “The Haunting” anthology series for Netflix.
Tanya Giles
Chief Programming Officer, Paramount Streaming
Giles oversees and executes a holistic programming strategy for the global content offering across the company’s streaming services Paramount+ and Pluto TV, maximizing mix, prioritization, timing and impact of Paramount resources, franchises and brands to drive sustained audience acquisition and engagement. With more than 20 years of experience, Giles is widely respected across the entertainment industry and has a proven track record of applying research-driven insights to make high-impact programming decisions. Prior to joining Paramount Streaming, Giles served as GM for the MTV Entertainment Group, where she led content strategy, programming, and research and insights for leading entertainment brands such as MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, VH1, TV Land and others.
Catherine Houser
EVP, Worldwide Human Resources, Paramount Pictures and Paramount Streaming
A trusted leader in the Paramount Global family for 25 years with deep HR experience in film and television, Houser has managed human resources teams in the entertainment industry for 30 years. Prior to overseeing Paramount Pictures HR, she served as EVP of human resources for Viacom Media Networks. where she led the company’s HR strategies and practices. In that role, she was responsible for all of MTV Networks’ HR initiatives globally. Before joining MTV Networks, Houser was SVP of human resources and operations for Orion Pictures.
Elizabeth Wright
EVP and CFO, Direct to Consumer Segment, Paramount Global
Wright steers the global financial strategy for both Paramount+ and Pluto TV. Prior to becoming CFO of the direct-to-consumer segment, Wright served as SVP of finance for CBS Interactive. In that role, she oversaw the entire finance organization, ran annual budget processes, managed monthly key performance indicators, and drove initiatives for new business partnerships for the CBS digital division. Prior to joining CBS in 2007, Wright worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers and started her career in public accounting.
Amy Kuessner
SVP, Content Strategy and Global Partnerships, Paramount Global
Kuessner is responsible for growth strategies, partnerships, content licensing and international expansion for Pluto TV and focused areas of Paramount+. In this role, Kuessner brings her expertise, creative vision and strategy to identify, bridge and scale symbiotic content partnerships across the multiple streaming platforms. Since its onset, Kuessner has been instrumental in the development and oversight of Pluto TV’s content acquisitions team, responsible for establishing nearly 400 global content deals with major Hollywood studios, TV networks, distributors, major sports leagues, news organizations and publishing outfits. Prior to joining Pluto TV, Kuessner spent over two decades in entertainment, specializing in emerging digital technologies, including AVOD, linear, MVPDs and digital cinema. She has decades of experience in marketing and business development, with prior roles at NBCUniversal, Liberty Media, Sony Corp. and DirecTV, in addition to startups including National CineMedia/Fathom Entertainment and ByExperience.
Susan Lundgren
SVP, Communications, Paramount Streaming
Lundgren oversees all external and internal communications and events efforts for the division, as well as its streaming services Paramount+, Pluto TV and Noggin. She has more than 20 years of communications experience working with some of the top brands within tech and media. Prior to joining Paramount Streaming, Lundgren was with Apple, where she was responsible for managing global strategic communications for legal, government affairs and industrial design. Before that, Lundgren led corporate communications efforts for key technology clients of Porter Novelli, a global communications agency.
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PBS Distribution
Andrea Burton
Senior Director, Business Development
With more than 20 years of experience in the media and communications industry, Burton leads PBS Distribution’s global business development efforts and manages key partner relationships with Amazon, YouTube and others. She has launched partnerships with Pluto, Tubi, Roku, Freevee, Xumo and Peacock, and launched two FAST channels in the United States with a third on its way and two in the United Kingdom, as well as four YouTube channels. Prior to joining PBS Distribution, Burton was the director of sales at HBO.
Lori Galkowski
Director, National Sales
A home entertainment veteran with 30-plus years of experience, Galkowski has extensive knowledge in multiple channels of business supporting Blu-ray and DVD sales. Responsible for physical content sales and marketing in the mass and specialty channels in the United States and Canada, as well as the company’s distribution partnership, her expertise and efforts to create new, exclusive content have resulted in consistently strong retail placements. Prior to joining PBS Distribution in 2015, Galkowski held positions at Warner Bros. and Sight & Sound Distributors.
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Premiere Digital
Michele Edelman
Head of Growth
With more than 20 years of executive experience, an unmatched business acumen and extensive knowledge of home entertainment, Edelman has been a driving force behind innovation and growth at the forefront of an evolving OTT landscape. From launching TVOD programs at Warner Bros., to spearheading VOD strategies at Vubiquity, to redefining distribution at media services company Premiere Digital, Edelman has been instrumental in implementing international market plans across media services, distribution and software-as-a-service disciplines.
Pamela Ng
CFO
Ng joined Premiere Digital in December 2020 to oversee all financial operations and collaborate with management on the company’s most important initiatives, including organic growth strategies, acquisitions, KPI performance and risk avoidance through data-driven decision-making. Prior to joining the company, she served as CFO at Irwin Naturals, a provider of premium vitamin and supplements. Before that, she served as VP of strategy at Beachbody, a leading fitness streaming and nutrition company, and as GM of Teleflora’s SaaS e-commerce platform.
Evelyn Arteaga
Executive Director of Operations
Arteaga has become a key influence in developing digital workflows at Premiere Digital since she joined the company near its inception. Evolving through her roles as a digital media technician to a manager and to her current position, she has improved and developed processes that efficiently adapt with the company’s growth. In supporting significant functions of the company, she has curated instrumental industry knowledge that has positioned the company as a primary technological solution for media servicing and distribution.
Beth Archer
Director of Mastering
Since joining Premiere Digital, Archer has risen from an entry level position in ingest and mastering to director of mastering. She is responsible for establishing the company’s roots on the East Coast, launching the Stamford, Conn., facility and consolidating workflows and technologies to support the Los Angeles headquarters. In developing efficient processes and leveraging a honed knowledge of new technologies, she has been a key contributor to the company’s growth alongside the rise of digital media in entertainment.
Natalie Martin
VP, Growth and Development
Martin has been a top-performing digital distribution executive for more than a decade, using her deep sales and operations expertise to help global brands monetize content with innovative strategies and solutions that maximize profitability. In her current role, she is responsible for driving revenue by nurturing key industry relationships and building new revenue streams, including the company’s rapidly expanding aggregation business that increases scale and efficiency between digital platforms and content owners.
Carrie Moore
VP, Product Development
Moore is the quintessential Premiere Digital success story. Since joining the company as the seventh employee, she has become a reliable expert in digital distribution with experience in mastering, fulfillment and SaaS technology. She helped expand the company’s global footprint, launching the Bangalore facilities, workflow and teams to enable global operations. She also developed a product support infrastructure for all software used at Premiere Digital, continuing to grow the company’s flagship media management products, Storefront and PDX.
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Redbox
Christina Chu
Chief Technology Officer
Chu oversees all of technology across Redbox, including software engineering, technology operations, infrastructure, and corporate system teams responsible for TVOD, FLTV and AVOD streaming services, as well as the physical kiosk hardware and software. She’s responsible for developing next-generation technologies and strategy for the company’s growing streaming platform that includes apps on smart-TVs, the Web, Android and iOS devices, game consoles, and OTT devices, as well as its established kiosk business. Chu has worked closely with business, operations and product leaders to ensure that Redbox’s technology platforms can scale and quickly evolve in support of the ever-evolving streaming space. Prior to joining Redbox, Chu was the SVP of technology at Fullscreen where she led engineering strategy and execution for the company’s B2C and B2B lines of business. Chu spent more than a decade at NBCUniversal.
Durriya Gunja
Senior Director, Creative Services
Gunja is responsible for creative leadership, strategic oversight, and brand management ensuring a consistent experience across all channels and platforms at Redbox. She leads the management team overseeing brand promotions, creative and content development, video production, and operations supporting enterprise level products (kiosk, TVOD, AVOD, R+ and Perks) across multiple channels and platforms. The group also supports content creation, promos and marketing for Redbox Originals and Exclusives under Redbox Entertainment. Under her leadership, the team helped brand and launch the Redbox digital platform including its TVOD and AVOD offerings. Durriya led the Redbox rebrand efforts in 2017, refreshing the 36,000-plus kiosks, print and digital assets, Redbox website, and mobile and CE apps. Most recently, she led the creative efforts to launch the new Redbox Value Menu.
Tiffany Cruz
Director of Media Operations
Cruz is responsible for managing rights, operations and publishing of Redbox’s AVOD, linear, and owned-and-operated Redbox channels, as well as its transactional VOD libraries. With 20 years of film distribution and digital operations experience, she uses her technical background to streamline processes, increasing throughput. Cruz also oversees Redbox Entertainment original films delivery, having managed distribution of 4,000-plus films in her career. She previously led content ops at Roku, managing 400-plus partners and a 400,000-plus title library internationally and domestically.
Anuradha Kali Kadimcherla
Director of Data Engineering and Business Intelligence
Kadimcherla leads the data engineering, data operations and the DBA teams at Redbox. She is responsible for the data team’s product roadmap, back-end production databases, third-party integrations, KPI reports and dashboards. She liaises with product management, business and leadership to deliver data workloads based on the business requirements. She strives to create an open data platform for everyone to democratize the data and build products that are performant and scalable. For Redbox’s on-demand platform, she led the efforts to integrate with its recommendation engine provider, helped build the studio revenue share reports, led the loyalty program implementation, and assisted in building out on-demand executive dashboards and integrating with studios and content providers for on-demand content ingestion.
Katherine Killeen
Director of Product Management
Killeen leads product management functions at Redbox and has been involved in launching many new products and features through partnership since joining the company more than 10 years ago. She contributed to the launch and growth of the Redbox Perks loyalty program, which now includes more than 40 million consumers. She drives product roadmaps for customer incentives and perks, kiosk improvements, as well as internal tools used for content management, merchandising, marketing and customer support, and communications.
Jeanette Socke
Director of Marketing, Redbox
Socke leads consumer marketing and social media at Redbox. She manages strategic monthly planning and executes brand, seasonal and promotional campaigns. Some of the high-profile campaigns she has managed include “Value Menu,” “Dinner & a Movie” and “12 Days of Deals.” She also manages connected-TV paid media to grow awareness and conversions of Redbox digital products such as transactional, AVOD, FAST and Redbox Entertainment originals. She collaborates with studios and sales teams to build integrated partnerships that drive consumer engagement, incremental rents and new customer acquisition.
Laura Florence
VP, Merchandising and Programming
Florence joined Redbox in 2019 to lead the company’s digital content acquisitions and helped to launch the Redbox FAST channel service and the ad-supported on-demand platform. In 2021 she was promoted to her current position, where she handles all content strategy and merchandising for kiosk, transactional, FAST, ad-supported and Redbox Original content, as well as the programming of Redbox linear Channels. She has more than 15 years of experience in both the physical and digital categories of content distribution, including a tenure at Gravitas Ventures, where she was the VP of North American sales and marketing.
Maura Gray
Senior Director, Consumer, Brand and Partner Marketing
Gray leads consumer marketing for all Redbox lines of business, including physical and digital transactional and free ad-supported (FAST/Free On Demand). She and her teams drive acquisition, retention and engagement across all touchpoints with off-channel media (paid and partnerships), in addition to Redbox’s owned channels, including social. She manages new product launches, large-scale brand initiatives and strategic planning. Prior to joining Redbox, the 17-year veteran of the entertainment industry managed ad sales and partnership marketing at the National Geographic Channels.
Kristin Bowser
VP of operations
Bowser is responsible for all of the operations of the legacy kiosk business. She successfully led the field team through a pandemic, civil unrest and record inflation. She was able to keep the business operating during a very challenging time in the entertainment business.
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Screen Media
Tamara Birkemoe
EVP, International Sales and Distribution
Birkemoe oversees all international distribution for Screen Media and is also part of the global acquisition and co-production team. In addition, she leads Screen Media’s international theatrical sales division, Foresight Unlimited. Birkemoe brings more than 21 years of extensive hands-on experience and knowledge of the entertainment industry. Throughout her career she has shepherded numerous projects from acquisition and development through worldwide sales and distribution. She is currently executive producing Fast Charlie, starring Pierce Brosnan, Morena Baccarin and James Caan, and Saint Clare, starring Bella Thorne. She most recently executive produced Nine Bullets, starring Lena Headey and Sam Worthington. She has also executive produced And So It Goes, starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton and directed by Rob Reiner; 2 Guns, starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg; and Lone Survivor, starring Mark Wahlberg and directed by Peter Berg.
Lisa Burgueno
SVP, Digital Distribution
Burgueno has been in digital distribution for more than a decade with roles at Lionsgate, Starz Digital, Cinedigm and Microsoft Movies & TV before joining Screen Media to head up transactional partnerships and development. Burgueno began her career in daily TV news production and spent several years as a festival manager and programmer for National Geographic, supporting first-hand storytelling by native and indigenous filmmakers.
Amanda Sherwin
SVP, Marketing
Sherwin has been working in the independent film arena for more than two decades. In February 2020 Sherwin started as a consultant for Screen Media Films overseeing theatrical marketing beginning with John Turturro’s The Jesus Rolls. She then came on full time as VP of marketing, and then SVP of marketing, overseeing the marketing and distribution campaigns for the company on such films as Rod Lurie’s critically acclaimed The Outpost, starring Scott Eastwood and Caleb Landry Jones and based on Jake Tapper’s best-selling book; the celebrated documentaries Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street and Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road; comedic titles, including Best Sellers, starring Michael Caine and Aubrey Plaza, and Family Squares, starring Henry Winkler, Margo Martindale and Judy Greer; dramas, such as Black Bird, starring Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet; as well as thrillers, including Gold starring Zac Efron, Till Death starring Megan Fox, and Monstrous starring Christina Ricci. Prior to joining Screen Media, Sherwin worked as a marketing consultant for PBS Distribution and ran the release and Academy campaigns on the Oscar-nominated documentary For Sama.
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Shout! Factory
Melissa Boag
EVP, Family Entertainment
Boag heads the family entertainment division, a significant part of Shout! Factory’s multi-platform business. She provides leadership across the company and big-picture strategy that supports Shout’s long-term growth. She creates marketing and distribution strategies for a large slate of new releases and catalog titles. Boag oversees distribution on key anime lines, including the partnerships with GKIDS on movies from GKIDS and Studio Ghibli titles, including perennial favorites such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, and with Eleven Arts on titles such as A Silent Voice and Poupelle of Chimney Town. In family animation and live-action entertainment, Boag directs the home entertainment strategy with Sesame Workshop on “Sesame Street”; with Laika on films including Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings; with Hasbro/eOne on “My Little Pony,” “Transformers” and “Power Rangers”; with Toei on “Digimon Adventure tri.”; and with MPCA on “When Calls the Heart.” She also collaborates on acquisitions and production of animated movies and the marketing strategy on Shout! Factory and Shout! Kids movie releases, including the 30th anniversary edition of FernGully: The Last Rainforest, The Magic Flute, Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon and Dreambuilders.
Lauren Blum
Associate VP, Publicity
Blum is an accomplished PR strategist, with a great passion for communication, journalism, business and leadership. She has delivered outstanding film, digital and home entertainment campaigns over the years. Recent campaign highlights include Belle, FernGully: The Last Rainforest 30th anniversary, Child’s Play collector’s editions, Oliver Stone’s JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, Old Henry and “The Six Million Dollar Man,” and home entertainment releases from GKIDS, Studio Ghibli and Laika Studios.
Kathy Callahan
VP, Special Market Sales and E-Commerce
Callahan is a 30-plus year veteran of entertainment media sales and marketing. She joined Shout! Factory in 2006. Since 2012 she has served as VP, overseeing Shout Factory’s e-commerce businesses, which include ShoutFactory.com and the company’s Marketplace businesses. Callahan also handles Shout! Factory specialty sales and non-traditional sales in general.
Julie Dansker
SVP, Streaming and Content Strategy
A seasoned entertainment executive with long-standing relationships with esteemed content creators, content buyers, digital and streaming platforms, studios, and networks, Dansker oversees the licensing and streaming sales team, leading the streaming and content distribution strategy for Shout! Factory. She drives the monetization for all film and series content across global SVOD and AVOD channel partners and broadcasters, executing licensing deals, managing a portfolio of AVOD channel partners, and pitching and launching FAST channels. Utilizing data-driven analytics, her team monitors performance and optimizes engagement across partners. Dansker also collaborates with the acquisitions team to identify and acquire elevated new releases and is on the Shout! Studios’ originals team developing original content across television, feature films and podcasts, actively pitching and setting up original productions. Most notable recent films include the award-winning Shout! Studios’ original Old Henry, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, as well as recent SXSW pick-up Linoleum, starring Jim Gaffigan and Rhea Seehorn.
Lexie Heredia
VP, Financial Planning and Analysis
Heredia manages all new deal evaluations within Shout’s content acquisition process. She also manages overall budgets annually as well as the long-range plan, constantly focused on aligning Shout’s strategic goals with overall forecasting into the future. Additionally, she is a member of Shout’s DEI taskforce, a committee that leads the company’s internal efforts with regards to diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, as well as serves to find outreach opportunities within the community also focused on these efforts, such as internship/mentorship partnerships with Academy Gold Rising and continued sponsorship of the City of Angels Women’s Film Festival. Through her 10 years at Shout, she has remained passionate about the company’s growth and success as both a distributor of film and television content, as well as its culture and core values.
Karrie Stouffer
VP, Creative Services
Stouffer is the head of creative, specializing in entertainment properties. Her expertise spans numerous functions including leading and managing creative campaigns, art direction, design, key art/logo/brand/title treatment development, and project management. Most recently, Stouffer has helped spearhead the branding/merchandising of the relaunch of the beloved series “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” in step with Shout! Factory’s leap into original content.
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Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Jill Allen
SVP, Digital Distribution
Allen leads Sony Pictures Entertainment’s transactional digital distribution business (TVOD) for North America. In her role she maximizes revenues for SPE’s iconic slate of film and TV content in collaboration with all North American digital retailers. Most recently, she led SPE’s digital home entertainment release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the top-performing digital release of all time. Allen has been at SPE for 16 years in sales and business development roles, with an ongoing focus on the intersection of content and new technologies. Allen also serves as executive sponsor for Voz, SPE’s Latino Employee Resource Business Group, and is a board member of Sony Pictures Action, SPE’s global racial equity and Inclusion initiative. Prior to joining SPE, Allen worked at The Walt Disney Co. and LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton).
Jennifer Anderson
SVP, Global Brand Marketing
Anderson leads the global brand marketing team that oversees and manages lifecycle campaigns across the Sony Pictures slate, establishing key consumer messaging, aligning marketing tactics to core brand strategy and ensuring that product marketing efforts are in line with studio business goals. Some priorities in this rapidly changing landscape have included optimizing release windows, bringing high-end productions direct-to-home, and delighting content-hungry consumers with a wide range of catalog titles that continue to shine.
Geri Bluerock
SVP, Sales and Operations, North America
Bluerock leads the sales and operations organization for the domestic physical business. Her scope includes sales, supply chain, planning, reporting and administration. She has led the evolution of the sales team to integrate data-driven insights addressing retailer and consumer opportunities. Her experience at Sony, MGM and Target includes leadership positions in sales, sales planning and analysis, retail operations, category management, vendor managed inventory, demand planning, and retail buying.
Anja Dang
SVP, Global Audience Analytics, Data Science and Business Insights
Dang leads the team that develops Sony Pictures’ capabilities to become a more consumer-centric and data-driven organization. Her team builds, sources, connects and manages consumer and audience-level data assets and capabilities to create consumer segments for activation and design audience activation solutions and to deliver commercial insights. The team accomplishes this through advanced data analytics and machine learning to develop models and apps to enable Sony Pictures to make informed decisions that drive and fulfill the consumer appetite for film and television content across the theatrical, home entertainment and television release windows.
Cathy Goldman
SVP, Global TV Distribution and International Production Marketing
Goldman has been overseeing marketing for Sony Pictures Television International Distribution for the past eight years, and just recently expanded her purview to include the U.S. television distribution business as well as the global transactional business for television product. Alignment of the transactional TV business with distribution allows for a holistic marketing approach across the lifecycle. Core responsibilities include leading brand strategy, promotions, and partnerships and collaborating closely with cross-functional teams across digital/social, creative, creative content, media and publicity for premiere television properties such as “Outlander,” “The Crown,” “Better Call Saul” and “The Blacklist,” as well as key franchises such as “Seinfeld” and Norman Lear favorites.
Jane Mohon
SVP, Media and Home Entertainment/TV Distribution Marketing Services
Mohon is responsible for consumer media strategy, overseeing strategic linear and digital media planning and buying. A champion of an analytics-led strategy, Mohon leverages consumer lifecycle data to drive multi-channel paid media strategies to drive transactions. In addition, she is responsible for consumer-data-driven marketing operations functions, such as Movies Anywhere and the consumer loyalty program within the home entertainment line of business.
Dina Wiggins
SVP, Legal
Wiggins has been overseeing legal affairs for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Television Distribution marketing globally for more than 25 years, closely collaborating with related departments throughout the Sony organization. Her work also encompasses legal analysis and advice for the duration of the licensing, distribution, sales, manufacturing, and other exploitation of movies and television series in all new and established areas of home entertainment for Sony Pictures.
Lindsey Beams, VP, People and Organization Business Partners
Kelly Bouchey, VP, TVOD Client Services
Christine Galloway, VP, Global Digital Marketing
Sachiyo Hirano, VP, Sales Planning
Katie Ullrich, VP, Global Brand Marketing
Michelle Vendange, VP, Global Customer Experience
Jane Webster, VP, New Digital Distribution
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Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Pamela Blum
SVP, Global Marketing
Blum oversees creative marketing services and the development of value-added content for the studio’s digital, Blu-ray and DVD releases on a worldwide basis. Her responsibilities also extend to include maximizing opportunities cross-divisionally within NBC Universal.
Sandy Choi
SVP, Brand Marketing
Choi manages all global marketing and product development for Focus Features’ new-release offerings as well as UPHE’s North American third-party partner relationships. She oversees the development and execution of all marketing campaigns for the partner releases across both digital and physical platforms, as well as leads the cross-functional team responsible for the overall business.
Erica Marie Dionne
SVP, Release Planning and Business Ops
Dionne oversees the studio’s film and television releasing planning process and business operations strategy across digital platforms. Her responsibilities include establishing go-to-market best practices, managing cross-company digital initiatives and identifying opportunities to maximize the value of content on emerging platforms. She serves as a member of Universal Pictures’ Inclusion Committee, leading initiatives that enhance the studio’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in the workforce and represents NBCUniversal as the Los Angeles Regional Advisory Board Chair for a partner nonprofit, America On Tech.
Denise Haro
SVP, Worldwide Consumer Insights and Strategy
Haro oversees business analytics, focusing on external market analytics, trend analysis and long-term outlook. She also manages UPHE’s consumer insights and research. She is focused on aligning global commercial strategy around product, window, messaging, and innovation founded in business and consumer insights. Throughout her tenure, she has been influential in shaping company strategy.
Jerrlyn Iwata
SVP, Digital Distribution
Iwata oversees business development and distribution for Universal’s domestic digital home entertainment arm. She is responsible for licensing Universal’s film and television content on a transactional basis to cable, satellite, internet and emerging digital platform partners across the United States and Canada.
Stephanie Lutjens
SVP, Global Brand Marketing
Lutjens spearheads global strategic marketing, product development and management of all new-release titles from Universal Pictures, Illumination and DreamWorks Animation, in addition to the studio’s extensive catalog and television library. She also manages worldwide home entertainment promotions.
Lea Porteneuve
SVP, Global Publicity and Communications
Porteneuve oversees business, technology and executive communications for UPHE. She additionally spearheads all strategic publicity initiatives for Universal and its distributed lines, including media and talent relations, events, promotions, promotional partnerships and social media activations in support of the studio’s digital and physical home entertainment offerings. She also actively serves as the company’s principal PR strategist on cross-studio, industry-specific committees.
Stacy Barger, VP, Creative Services
Stephanie Bayer, VP, Creative Services
Jennifer Black, VP, Global Publicity
Eng Chua, VP, Finance and Operations
Leigh Dunleavy, VP, Digital Platforms
Alissa Gury, VP, Global Controller
Nadia Haney, VP, Emerging Partnerships and Formats
Tracy Kim, VP, Digital Distribution and Digital Platforms
Sandy Le Bihan, VP, Global Projects
Marian Mansi, VP, Global Creative Content
Jenna Webb, VP, Global Tech Operations
Shavonne Wieder, VP, Global Brand Marketing
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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Nicole Coleman
SVP, Content Planning and Analysis
Coleman leads analytics, business planning and operations in support of monetizing content and maximizing revenue for the studio. This includes the evaluation of content windowing trade-offs, price optimization and competitive analysis. Additionally, she leads product planning and availability for film and TV content across Warner Bros. Discovery’s vast content portfolio.
Kristina Fugate
SVP, Film Marketing
Fugate handles all theatrical new-release and catalog brand lifecycle marketing efforts across disc and digital platforms, which also includes creative advertising, franchise management and global strategy. Her team executes strategies resulting in strong performances of all Warner Bros. Discovery brands and franchises, including DC and “Harry Potter,” and recent titles including The Batman and Elvis. Additionally, Fugate oversees the 4K Ultra HD slate, including remastering classics such as The Shining, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Singin’ in the Rain and The Shawshank Redemption, and she manages immersive entertainment including Harry Potter VR at the New York City Harry Potter flagship store.
Mary Ellen Thomas
SVP, Television and Originals Product and Brand Marketing
Thomas leads home entertainment global marketing and creative for all non-theatrical content from Warner Bros., Tnets (Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, TBS, TNT, truTV, CNN) and HBO. She is responsible for driving the overall strategy, product development, creative, marketing and lifecycle management for originals and episodic product lines. In addition, Thomas manages talent and studio relationships and is responsible for Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s portfolio brand partners, including Rooster Teeth, Peanuts, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, WWE and Viz Media.
Robyn Sklaren
SVP, Sales Planning
Sklaren is the executive in charge of domestic sales planning and library management for Warner Bros. Discovery’s vast library of films and television shows. She oversees rights, availability, windowing, pricing and strategic content curation across SVOD, AVOD, basic cable, pay cable and other linear networks for domestic content licensing. She leads the music clearance and remastering efforts on hundreds of classic TV series and films such as “Babylon 5,” “Dallas,” “The Flintstones,” Pump Up the Volume, Now & Then and The Outsiders: The Complete Novel.
Kristin Anderson, VP, Television and Originals
Traci Carroll, VP, Creative Advertising
Amy-Beth Chamberlin, VP, Sales Services
Lindsay Feng, VP, Trade Marketing
Sandra S. Kim, VP, Global Product Planning
Tina Depass Lujan, VP, Television and Originals
Angie Lai Makhoul, VP, Film Marketing
Zandra Palmer, VP, Trade Marketing
Beth Wetzel, VP, Creative Advertising Television and Originals
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Once again, we are leading off with a special focus on the top “captains” who are driving the industry. This year we have selected 18 women leaders, up from 15 last year. The growing number of “captains” can be attributed to both the healthy and welcome fact that more and more women are joining Hollywood’s executive ranks, as well as the continued broadening of what is considered “home entertainment” due to the proliferation of distribution channels.
UPHE released the $726 million global theatrical blockbuster F9 in home with a premium rental offering just five weeks after the film’s chart-topping run at the box office. Supported widely by digital retail partners and broad national advertising, the PVOD marketing campaign drove home messaging to consumers that the event film was coming straight from theaters into their homes for the first time ever.
Released in theaters right before Thanksgiving, the home entertainment release in January/February capitalized on the height of awareness and allowed families, who were still leery of going to the theater, to enjoy the film sooner at home.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola’s Academy Award-winning masterpiece The Godfather, Paramount and Coppola’s production company undertook a painstaking restoration of all three films in preparation for a limited theatrical run and a first-ever 4K Ultra HD release.
As the entire world enthusiastically embraced the movie in theaters with more than $1.8 billion in box office revenue, the home entertainment campaign started out with a huge bang.
The 20th anniversary of the premiere of “Smallville” on CW was Oct. 16, 2021. To celebrate this milestone, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released Smallville: The Complete Series on Blu-ray Disc for the very first time just three days later, on Oct. 19. New packaging with 20th anniversary key art was designed for this boxed set, which includes 40 Blu-ray Discs containing all 218 episodes plus two additional DVDs featuring more than 28 hours of previously released bonus content.
Just one month after Jungle Cruise arrived in theaters — and simultaneously on Disney+ with Premier Access — the In-Home team made the case for ownership, and helped ensure a successful in-home release across multiple windows.
November 2021 marked the 20th anniversary of the theatrical release of the beloved Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first film in the tremendously successful film franchise featuring eight Harry Potter films.
As the world began to come out from under the heavy weight of the pandemic, and theaters began to open wider, Sony Pictures launched Venom: Let There Be Carnage in theaters in October 2021. This set the stage for a ramped-up home entertainment campaign that focused on the strong franchise and ideal holiday timing.
Based on the “Yellowstone” season three cliffhanger and the series’ explosive viewership growth, Paramount Home Entertainment was prepared with a season four home entertainment marketing campaign that spanned six months and established Yellowstone: Season 4 as the biggest TV season release since the final season of “Game of Thrones.”