John Calkins has been tapped veep of business development for Warner Bros. New Media, the Internet arm that oversees Warner Bros. Online and Entertaindom.com.
In his new post, Calkins will be responsible for identifying and negotiating equity investments and strategic alliances with new-media companies, as well as overseeing Warner Bros.’ interests in similar agreements that are already in place.
Time Warner Digital Media created a $500 million fund last year to invest in new media opportunities, a fund that Calkins may use to make his own investments in content-creating and distributing dot-coms.
Calkins will also explore strategic and new-media opportunities to support offline units of Warner Bros.
He will report to Kevin Tsujihara, who was recently tapped executive veep, Warner Bros. New Media.
“The combination of John’s strategic planning expertise and his knowledge of the Internet and new-media worlds will make him a valuable member of our team,” Tsujihara said.
Calkins has spent the past four years in the Los Angeles offices of McKinsey and Co. Inc. handling strategic management and operational issues, concentrating on entertainment and retail industries on the Internet as well as distribution issues.
