Surprising no one, on Tuesday night Amazon informed employees that Amazon Studios owner Jennifer Salke will now also be overseeing MGM, effective immediately.
Along with his duties as head of Amazon Studios, Salke will oversee MGM scripted television and film as well as creative marketing and distribution. Assisting him will be Chris Brereton, who will now serve as PVS Vice President of Corporate Strategy, overseeing streaming service MGM+ (formerly Epix) and MGM Alternative Television.
“I wanted to say how proud I am to be named head of Amazon and MGM Studios. It is a privilege to lead such a team of extremely talented people. Our has such an exciting opportunity as we continue to build on our best-in-class studio and entertain even more people around the world.
Salke also announced a new leadership structure at MGM. Amazon Television’s Vernon Sanders will oversee the script for MGM Television with Lindsey Sloan and Rola Bauer. AOM team boss Julia Rapaport will helm the MGM film. Dan Scharf will oversee MGM business operations and casting, music and production. Amazon Studios head of marketing Sue Kroll will take on the same role for MGM, with chief marketing officer Stephen Bruno reporting to her. Brad Beale will oversee content licensing and Chris Oettinger will report to him. And United Artists Releasing Head of Theatrical Distribution Eric Loomis will report directly to Salke.
News of Salke’s new duties was announced in a memo to employees by Amazon senior vice president Mike Hopkins. Read that memo below:
hi team,
About nine months ago when we acquired MGM, we stated that we would take a thoughtful and measured approach to the integration process. It was important to take the time to ensure that the right people were in the right jobs to maximize collaboration, creativity and innovation. We have taken many important decisions during this period and have now completed the necessary work of setting up our organizational structure. I’m pleased to announce that effective immediately, Jennifer Salke will become Head of Amazon and MGM Studios, which will include oversight of MGM Scripted Television and Film, Distribution and Creative Marketing. Additionally, I’d like to welcome Chris Brereton, who will take on a new role as VP, PVS Corporate Strategy, MGM+ and MGM Alternative Television.
Jen’s outstanding reputation in the creative community has earned her the respect of Hollywood’s top talent throughout the industry. With Jen now overseeing both studios as well as distribution and all creative marketing – creatives will have a single point of entry for the opportunity to showcase their content across all of our platforms. Serving the creative community in this way will streamline and enhance the creative process, expand our growing stable of content, and firmly reinforce Zen’s commitment to being the home for talent.
Chris Brereton is running MGM’s business and leading its integration into Prime Video and Amazon Studios. In his new role, he will lead business planning and corporate strategy for PVS. He will also oversee MGM+ and MGM Alternative, where he will be responsible for leading the development and driving the rebrand of the MGM+ premium service, as well as working closely with the veteran MGM unscripted television team to continue its legacy of megahits. Will do, such as Survivor, Shark Tank, and The Voice. Brereton will report to me and will join my senior leadership team effective immediately.
I appreciate all the work done on this integration and believe we are now better positioned to deliver on our ambitious vision with the best leaders at the helm. Throughout this process you have continued to provide great entertainment to customers around the world. We released three MGM film titles for direct-to-streaming (DTS) release on PV, including Thirty Lives, Anything is Possible, and Samaritan and the critically acclaimed theatrical releases of Till and Bones and All. We partnered to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 007 franchise in October 2022.
We have new quality storytelling to bring to our subscribers in the coming weeks with Women Talking, Boys in the Boat and Creed III and even more in development for Prime Video. In addition to the launch, we greenlit Road House with Jake Gyllenhaal and Underdogs with Snoop Dogg. In partnership with MGM Television, we produced The Shelter (based on the bestselling thriller novel by Harlan Coben), The Consultant (starring Christoph Waltz), and A Road to a Million (a reality competition series featuring locals from the 007 films) Launched and started production. ,
I greatly appreciate all the work you’ve done collectively this year, and we can all work together to build the next phase of this rich legacy of amazing content. You’ll soon hear from Jen and Chris about their vision and goals for their respective organizations. Thank you all for your patience and commitment during this process.
mike