Warner Bros. Pictures is undergoing a major restructure of its upper corporate management with Toby Emmerich being promoted from president and chief content officer to chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group.
Emmerich will take over duties from current Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara who will take a step back from day-to-day oversight of the movie operations.
The big surprise though is Sue Kroll, the president of worldwide marketing and distribution and a beloved figure with decades of experience on the lot and deep relationships with many of the studios’ key filmmakers, is relinquishing her position and has taken a three-year producer deal at the studio. For the next few months, Kroll will report to Tsujihara as a special advisor on the restructuring and oversee Warners’ awards campaigns before transitioning to an exclusive producer deal on April 1st.
Her old job will now be split in two. Blair Rich will run global theatrical and home entertainment marketing while Ron Sanders will serve as president worldwide distribution at the studio. Rich is highly valued internally and she was one of the masterminds behind the “IT” marketing campaign. Sanders has been serving as president of the home entertainment group and will retain that role in addition to his new position.
Under the new management structure, production, marketing, and distribution will all report to Emmerich.
