Robert Simonds, Chairman and CEO of STX Entertainment, has appointed former Discovery Communications exec Andrew Warren as Chief Financial Officer.
Warren will be the principle executive in charge of all fiscal functions and strategy of the company. He will join the corporation on April 3 at its Burbank headquarters.
Warren left Discovery, where he served as Senior Executive VP and CFO, at the end of 2016. In addition to serving on Discovery’s executive committee and contributing to the overall strategic direction of Discovery, he oversaw the company’s OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network joint venture. Previously, he was CFO of Liz Claiborne, Inc. and held senior executive positions at General Electric, where he led all finance activities at the NBC Network, Studios, CNBC, MSNBC, USA, SciFi and Bravo.
Warren is replacing Rich Sullivan, who last week was named chief operating officer of STXdigital.
“With Andy, we add another level of excellence, integrity and gravitas to our world-class team,” said Simonds. “Andy’s reputation as a stellar leader, thinker and strategist is well documented and well deserved, and we look forward to benefitting from his experience and judgment as we invest in and expand our operations, make strategic acquisitions, grow our international footprint and shape the future of entertainment.”
STX has a mixed record in the movie business since it launched in 2014 with a strong performances by “Bad Moms” and “The Boy” and disappointing results from “The Space Between Us” and “Free State of Jones.” It has funding from Chinese investors, including Hony Capital, social media giant Tencent, PCCW and Huayi Brothers Media.
Simonds told the South China Morning Post in November that STX was poised to open an office in Hong Kong and that the special administrative region of China was also his favored location for an IPO.
Warren said Monday, “I have been fortunate in my career to have worked with some of the best companies and business leaders in the world and this opportunity at STX is exactly what I wanted to pursue next. Bob and his exceptional team are revolutionizing global media and I look forward to joining them to make STX a high-growth, world-class company, and the envy of the industry.”
