Universal has elevated Michael Moses to the position of worldwide marketing president and hired Dwight Caines as co-president of marketing, the studio announced in a company-wide memo.
The moves come as Universal has been rocked by a series of executive dismissals following allegations of inappropriate conduct by former marketing chief Josh Goldstine. Seth Byers, executive VP of creative strategy and research in the department, and Scott Abraham, another senior marketing executive, were also fired for inappropriate conduct.
Moses has been with the studio for more than 18 years, and is respected for his publicity know-how and big-picture strategizing. The thought is that Moses will be tasked with overseeing the creative aspects of the department, while Caines focuses on media and data-driven strategy.
In a letter to staff, Universal Filmed Entertainment chairman Jeff Shell and Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley praised Moses as “a trusted advisor” with “a strategic vision that few others in our business today can match.”
“From the greenlight process through theatrical release and beyond, Michael adds invaluable insight throughout the lifecycle of a film.,” they wrote.
Caines is another veteran, having spent nearly 20 years at Sony, rising through the ranks to become president of domestic theatrical marketing. Caines was pushed out in 2016 and replaced with Christine Birch after Josh Greenstein took over Sony’s marketing department. Since leaving Sony, Caines has been consulting. He will start his new post at the end of the month.
In addition, Moses named Lauri Brown as senior VP of creative advertising. Brown previously spearheaded marketing campaigns for films from the likes of Christopher Nolan and Peter Jackson as senior creative director at Ignition.
“We continue to say it and it never gets old: We have the best team in the business and we are proud of what we have been able to accomplish together,” Shell and Langley wrote.
