In a job that looks to the future, David Bishop will be nurturing MGM Home Entertainment Group’s emerging technologies business.
Bishop, who serves as president and chief operating officer, has assumed the added responsibility for overseeing the company’s video-on-demand and pay-per-view business. He will continue to head up all aspects of its video and DVD operations, its consumer products and interactive businesses as well as its Internet unit.
“Over a five year period, I expect video-on-demand to be roughly 25 to 30 percent of our overall business,” Bishop said.
Currently, more than 90 percent of the revenue generated by the home entertainment division comes from home video.
Bishop said the division will become even more important to the company’s performance as new technologies become widespread. “We can gain incremental revenue from home video while moving into the next business,” he said.
Besides the emergence of video-on-demand (which allows customers to order a movie at any time, as opposed to pay-per-view where viewers must be present at a specific show time), Bishop wants to develop a legal Napster-like service that allows customers to download films onto their computers.
He said his increase in responsibility has been a gradual process and that, so far, the transition has been “going smoothly.” He added that the addition of the pay-per-view business is requiring MGM to “restructure the organization somewhat.”
“There is already a dedicated staff for pay-per-view. Those people will be coming over to (the) Home Entertainment (division).”
Bishop began his career with MGM Home Video in 1985 working his way up to vice president of sales and marketing for the division. He then spent three years as president and chief operating officer of LIVE Home Video before returning to MGM in 1994 as executive vice president.
Conor Dougherty
Accounting & Consulting
Wendy C. Klein and Steve Cleland have been named principals at RBZ LLP, an accounting and strategic management consulting firm in Los Angeles. Klein manages the company’s South Bay office and is a specialist in emerging and entrepreneurial businesses as well as estates and trusts. Cleland was previously a manager in the firm’s general accounting and auditing department and specializes in audits, due diligence, budgeting, profit planning and operational efficiency studies.
Douglas Farrow and Bjorn Malmund have been admitted to the partnership in the Los Angeles office of KPMG. They practice in the firm’s forensic and litigation services practice and will provide dispute resolution and forensic accounting services.
Advertising & P.R.
Thomas Kirk has been promoted to executive vice president, management account director at Rubin Postaer and Associates, an advertising firm in Santa Monica. In his new role, he will take on management responsibilities for the Arco and AM/PM accounts, adding to his current duties on American Century Investments and the Getty Museum.
Robert Rose has been appointed vice president of strategic planning and business development at Ignited Minds, a full-service marketing company in Los Angeles. He will be responsible for overseeing strategic direction, business development, company expansion and new service offerings in the high tech and entertainment sectors. Rose was most recently an associate partner in the Web consulting firm marchFIRST.
Entertainment
Gary Marsh, Andrea Taylor and Jill Casagrande have been appointed to new positions at the Disney Channel as a result of the recen t reorganization of ABC Cable Networks Group. Marsh has been named executive vice president, original programming. He will be responsible for overseeing development and production of the Disney Channel’s entire slate of original programming in addition to the creative development of original programming for international Disney channels. Marsh most recently served as executive vice president, original programming.
Taylor’s new position is senior vice president, marketing. She will be responsible for articulating Disney Channel’s brand vision, developing the network’s marketing strategy, overseeing online creative and on-air promotions, consumer trade marketing and implementing marketing and promotional campaigns. She previously served as senior vice president of on-air promotions and interstitials for ABC Cable Networks Group.
In her new role as senior vice president, programming, Casagrande will be responsible for overseeing program planning, scheduling, standards and practices, traffic, media planning and acquisitions for Disney Channel. She most recently served as vice president, scheduling and programming at ABC Cable Networks Group.
David Miercourt has been appointed to the newly created position of senior vice president of business affairs at Myriad Pictures, a sales company involved in the financing, distribution and production of motion pictures and television programming. Based in Los Angeles, he will head Myriad’s business affairs department and will be responsible for in-house business, operational and legal matters covering all aspects of theatrical motion pictures from development through production as well as delivery and distribution. Miercourt was previously a senior associate at Weissmann, Wolff, Bergmann, Silverman, Coleman & Holmes, where he practiced entertainment law.
Scott Tallman has been promoted to vice president, marketing at Universal Studios Network Programming in Universal City. He will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of marketing including publicity, advertising, promotion and award campaigns for USNP’s productions. Tallman previously served as executive in charge of marketing for the division.
Environmental
Andrew J. Mandell has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer of Environmental Industries Inc., a landscape contract services provider in Calabasas. He will be responsible for all the financial activities of the corporation, including banking and financing relationships, in addition to overseeing the information systems and insurance functions. Prior to joining the company, Mandell was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Fox Cable Networks Group in Los Angeles.
Insurance
Alexandra Glickman has joined Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an insurance brokerage firm in Woodland Hills, as area executive vice president and managing director of the worldwide real estate and hospitality division. She will be responsible for the management and development of local, national and international accounts, products and services for the real estate and hospitality industries. Prior to joining the firm, Glickman spent more than 17 years with Marsh Inc., most recently serving as managing director and practice leader of the worldwide real estate practice.
Law
James S. Cochran and Alan M. Feld have joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Los Angeles as partners in the firm’s institutional entertainment and finance practice. In his practice Cochran represents record companies and other entertainment industry clients in acquisitions, financing, licensing and distribution arrangements and bankruptcy and insolvency matters in addition to advising clients in connection with securitizations, synthetic leases and other structured finance transactions involving entertainment assets. Feld represents lenders, debtors and creditor’s committees in complex workouts, reorganizations and bankruptcies. Both Cochran and Feld practiced at Dewey Ballantine before joining the firm.
Marc S. Cohen has joined Kaye Scholer LLP in Los Angeles as head of the business reorganization group. He will be specializing in representing creditors’ committees and bondholder and equity committees, as well as buyers of assets out of bankruptcy, secured creditors, landlords, plan proponents and debtors in possession. He most recently served as chair of the bankruptcy department at Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman Machtinger & Kinsella.
Mary L. Dickson has been elected partner in the Los Angeles office of Morgan Lewis & Bokius. Her practice focuses on corporate real estate transactions including financing, commercial leasing, purchases and sales. Dickson has been with Morgan Lewis since 1997.
Media
Mercedes Tondre has been promoted to executive vice president, client services at Palisades Media Group, a media buying and planning agency in Santa Monica. She will be managing the company’s newly formed PMG Business Division as well as continue to handle specific entertainment accounts and develop new business presentations. Joining Tondre will be Jodie Rosenthal, who has been hired as senior vice president, broadcast director. She will be primarily responsible for building the company’s buying group. Rosenthal previously served at Initiative Media where she was vice president broadcast supervisor, entertainment division-North America.
New Media
Jonathan Cassell has joined Isuppli Corp., a provider of supply chain management services for the electronic components industry, as a principal analyst in the market intelligence services group. He will be responsible for managing a range of editorial products created by the group. Prior to joining the firm, Cassell served as editor-in-chief for Cahners’ Electronic News.
Professional Services
Al Strong has been appointed chairman and chief executive at Commercial Programming Systems, a human capital management services company in Los Angeles. He will be responsible for positioning the company in their industry specializations, focusing on information technology recruiting for the financial, entertainment, healthcare, education, government and insurance sectors. He was previously the company’s president. Philip Sawyer has assumed the role of president. He will be managing and training all recruiters and sales staff for the Los Angeles, Orange County and Phoenix offices. Sawyer has been with CPS for 17 years, most recently serving as executive vice president.
Real Estate
William Lassetter has joined Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Los Angeles, as a principal broker and member of the company’s board of directors. Previously, he was president of the Hollman Lassetter Group.
Tourism
Aldwyn Hewitt has been promoted to the position of associate vice president of strategic alliances for the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau. He will be responsible for developing strategies to build corporate alliances for sponsorship opportunities. Hewitt has been with the bureau since 1996.
