Corporate
May 17, 2006
William Ireton Promoted To President & Representative Director, Warner Entertainment Japan
(May 17, 2006 – Burbank, CA) – William (Bill) Ireton has been promoted to President & Representative Director, Warner Entertainment Japan, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer; Alan Horn, President & Chief Operating Officer; and Richard Fox, Executive Vice President, International, Warner Bros.
In this newly created position, Ireton will have broad oversight of all of Warner Bros.’ businesses in Japan, including theatrical production and distribution, television distribution, home video, consumer products, international cinemas, online and emerging distribution technologies. Ireton will work closely with these businesses’ divisional presidents and in-territory regional and local management teams to achieve company-specific and enterprise-wide business objectives. He will report through Fox to Meyer and Horn.
“Japan is an extremely important territory for Warner Bros.,” said Meyer. “By organizing all of our operations under Bill, we will be able to fully exploit every opportunity for cross-promotion and increase our cross-company initiatives involving both the traditional and emerging entertainment platforms.”
“Bill has an unmatched background and experience in this market that often defines the pop culture and technological trends which have a tremendous impact on our businesses,” said Horn. “His expertise will be of great benefit to all of our business units in Japan.”
“I look forward to working with Bill day to day to provide corporate support and insight for this new structure so we can fully maximize its benefits across Warner Entertainment Japan,” said Fox.
Ireton has served as managing director, Warner Bros. Pictures Japan for the past 18 years, where he has been instrumental in the distribution of such key releases as the Matrix trilogy, the first four Harry Potter films, “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” “The Last Samurai,” “Constantine” and, most recently, “V for Vendetta.” Under Ireton's leadership, Warner Bros. Pictures Japan was recognized by the Minister of Trade, Economy and Industry of the government of Japan as the country's top distributor in 1999, 2001 and 2003. Additionally, the company was the recipient of the "Golden Box Office" Award given by Japan's Motion Picture Exhibitors Association for four consecutive years from 2001 to 2004.
Ireton has also been key in Warner Bros. Pictures Japan’s move into local acquisitions, including “Hero” and “The House of Flying Daggers” from China and “Windstruck” from Korea (these three titles alone grossed over $70 million). More recent acquisitions include “The Promise” and “Fearless” from China and “My Girl and I” from Korea. Warner Bros. Pictures Japan also recently released its first local production, “Catch a Wave.”
Prior to joining Warner Bros., Ireton held various posts at Toho-Towa, an importer-distributor of foreign films, based in Tokyo and later in Los Angeles. He began his entertainment industry career at Movie/TV Marketing, a motion picture trade journal based in Tokyo.
Ireton graduated from Sophia University in Tokyo with double major in political science and philosophy.
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