Electus Appoints John Pollak President of Electus International

NEW YORK, Jan. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ben Silverman's multimedia studio Electus, an operating business of IAC (Nasdaq: IACI), today announced that former Shine International Executive Vice President, John Pollak, has joined the Company as President of newly formed Electus International, effective January 1st.

In this new position, Pollak oversees the international strategy and execution for the growing slate of programming within Electus and its content labels. With deep expertise in the distribution of some of the world's most successful unscripted series, including MasterChef, The Biggest Loser, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, and Moment of Truth, and scripted titles, including The Listener, Archer, and The Hour, Pollak is responsible for distribution of Electus' programming as well as programs and formats from other well-known 3rd party providers.

"The Electus global business model relies heavily on the best in both international distribution and acquisitions. We are aggressively seeking out companies to invest in, both in the US and the UK, and one of our most important selling points is that we are not beholden to any sister companies in our distribution efforts," said Chris Grant, CEO of Electus.  "Similar to the early days at Reveille, we are implementing a strategy to deliver the greatest possible revenue to our creative partners.  We will not force our content through any one specific partner around the globe.  For that reason, it is essential that we have the best sales team and the best leader for that team.  I am thrilled that John Pollak is joining us as President of Electus International.  John is, without a doubt, the right person for this job."

Pollak will continue the international expansion initiated by the partnership between Electus and Chris Philip's production and distribution company Engine Entertainment in January 2011. Philip, who was instrumental in launching Electus' distribution efforts, will remain President of Engine and will spearhead a new global scripted production initiative that will provide Electus with a continued slate of dynamic scripted programming.

"Chris Philip has done an outstanding job building Electus' initial distribution efforts. His skill in scripted formats has been critical to our early success," continued Grant. "With more than 20 years of expertise in scripted programming formats, we are thrilled to take our partnership with Chris to the next level and for him to work alongside John to further develop Electus' international scripted slate."

Pollak worked with Silverman and Grant at Reveille to launch Reveille International (now Shine International) into one of the most prolific distribution companies in the television business.

"I am proud to have the chance to once again join Ben and Chris, and to work closely with Drew Buckley at this incredibly entrepreneurial and talented company," said John Pollak.  "Electus International will be run with the same energy and passion that has guided each of us for the better part of the past decade and will be the driving force behind our daily efforts.  And with no other agenda than to maximize revenue for Electus' companies and those of our third party partners, we will be able to independently operate in an ever-changing marketplace by distributing to all traditional and new media platforms."

As EVP of Shine International, John Pollak was responsible for the global sales and distribution of programming from the Shine Group companies, including Reveille, Kudos, Dragonfly, Princess Productions, Brown Eyed Boy, Shine TV, Shine France, Shine Germany, Shine Australia and Metronome, the Nordic region's production group. During his tenure, Pollak was responsible for identifying, exploiting and selling television content for the international market and structuring major Shine International partnerships and deals with top broadcasters. Pollak drove sales for some of the world's most successful non-scripted formats including Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, The Biggest Loser, American Gladiators, The Moment of Truth, MasterChef and Shine International's first scripted network series – The Listener, a successful co-production between NBC, Fox International Channels and CTV in Canada.

Pollak previously worked at Reveille as SVP of International Distribution and Creative Affairs, the production and distribution company founded by current Electus Founder & Chairman, Ben Silverman, that was focused on exploiting worldwide intellectual property rights through scripted and alternative television formats.

About Electus

Electus is the first integrated multimedia entertainment studio to unite producers, creators, advertisers and distributors under one roof and produce all forms of content for distribution across a variety of platforms around the world. Headed by Ben Silverman, in partnership with IAC [NASDAQ: IACI], the company connects advertisers, distributors and content creators early on in the development process, enabling marketers and advertisers to be a true partner in campaigns and content creation. For more information on Electus, visit www.electus.com.

Media Contacts
Electus
Stacy Simpson
212.314.7470
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Sunshine Sachs
Jessica Berger
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SOURCE Electus