Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, which has been growing aggressively over the past 5 years announced its new leadership structure that integrates talent from its new addition, RedBox, with its existing team. As the company moves forward it will have a wide-spanning reach that includes three streaming service “Crackel”, “Popcornflix”, and “Redbox” along with a physical presence across the country in the form of the Redbox Kiosks that allow users to rent DVDs and Blu-ray disks.
Chairman and chief executive officer, William J. Rouhana, announced the formation of the new senior leadership team today As previously announced, entertainment and streaming industry veterans Galen C. Smith, executive vice chairman, and Jonathan Katz, president, will lead this team of executives across a number of areas to support the company’s rapid growth. Both Smith and Katz will report to Rouhana.
The Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment leadership team will consist of:
- Galen Smith, executive vice chairman of Redbox and Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, will oversee all long-term planning for the company, including strategy, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and corporate services. Reporting to him:
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- Senior Vice President Corporate Communications, Peter Binazeski – Heads the company’s corporate communications and public relations;
- Chief People Officer, Marisa Famulare – Continues to direct all people functions;
- Chief Innovation Officer, Jason Kwong – Shifts duties to newly expanded role incubating and developing future areas of growth for the combined business;
- Chief Financial Officer, Chris Mitchell – Continues responsibility for all financial operations, capital structure, and investor relations;
- Chief Strategy Officer, Elana Sofko – Continues to manage M&A activities and international expansion; and
- Chief Legal Officer, Fred Stein – Expands his Redbox role to oversee all legal, business affairs and risk management.
Jonathan Katz, president, will oversee day-to-day operations, including the company’s streaming, kiosk, distribution, and studio businesses. Reporting to him:
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- Chief Operating Officer and President, Redbox Service, Michael Chamberlain – Continues to oversee the operations of the Redbox kiosk business, and leads the growing kiosk service business;
- Chief Executive Officer, Studios, David Ellender – Continues to lead the Chicken Soup for the Soul Television Group, developing and producing original content for all owned-and-operated platforms, now including Redbox kiosks and streaming, as well as third-party productions;
- Chief Acquisitions & Distribution Officer, David Fannon – Continues to oversee all domestic and international content acquisition and distribution, expanding his purview to include Redbox, and continues in his role as President of Screen Media Ventures;
- Chief Marketing Officer, Mike Feldner – Adds the combined company to his Redbox role, heading up all marketing, branding, and creative services, along with leading the company’s analytics and insights team;
- Chief Revenue Officer, Philippe Guelton – Expands role to lead all advertising sales and operations, as well as revenue partnerships across the company; and
- Chief Digital Officer, Adam Mosam – Adds to his responsibilities oversight of the company’s streaming businesses, including product, technology, and platform distribution.
