Starz Promotes John B. Penney To Chief Strategy Officer

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Nov. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Starz CEO Chris Albrecht announced today the promotion of John B. Penney to the position of Chief Strategy Officer for Starz, LLC.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080522/LATH063LOGO-b)

He will work with the CEO, executive committee, as well as heads of the business units, to extend Starz's corporate and business growth strategies.  In this role, Penney will develop and implement strategic initiatives including partnerships, ventures and innovative models for new business opportunities across the Starz family of companies.

"John has been a trusted partner to me and the senior management team at Starz, and I am pleased he will take on the role of Chief Strategy Officer," said Albrecht.  "His deep insight into the global media and entertainment ecosystem is uniquely valued.  He has set a high bar in providing our management team with keen industry analysis that has been invaluable to our decision making, and we look forward to John's continued contributions to helping grow our businesses."

Previously at Starz, Penney held the position of Executive Vice President, Strategy and Business Development.  He will continue to report into Albrecht in the Beverly Hills offices. 

Prior to joining Starz, Penney was President and Head of Corporate Development of Foresee Entertainment, a media and entertainment company he co-founded with current Starz CEO, Chris Albrecht in 2008.  At Foresee, Penney was responsible for operations and the planning and development of its strategy, expansion efforts and new business platforms.

Before joining Foresee, Penney served as Head of Global Media Strategy for IMG, Inc., where he was responsible for developing and implementing a new global entertainment strategy, focusing on production and distribution of non-scripted, scripted, and digital programing.

An early and ongoing proponent of the digital transformation of the entertainment industry, prior to IMG, Penney was with HBO for five years, most recently serving as Senior Vice President, Digital Initiatives, where he oversaw the strategic planning, delivery and operational management of digital businesses and new advertising-supported broadband channels.

Penney was Executive Vice President at ACTV, Inc., where he oversaw the development and licensing of technologies and intellectual property for interactive television, personal computer, wireless data and mobile entertainment environments.

Before executive stints at Scient, Inc. and Viacom, Penney spent seven years on Wall Street, both as an equity research analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., Inc. covering the media and entertainment industries, and as a financial analyst in the Media & Telecommunications Corporate Finance group of The Chase Manhattan Bank.

Penney holds a B.A. in Social Psychology from Wesleyan University and a Master's Degree in Public Policy & Administration, concentrating in Science & Technology, from Columbia University.

He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter.

About Starz
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.

Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ^® and ENCORE^® pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies.  As of September 30, 2013, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 57.0 million subscribers, including 22.0 million at STARZ, and 35.0 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S.  STARZ^® and ENCORE^®, along with Starz Networks' third network MOVIEPLEX^®, air over 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television.  Starz Distribution's home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties.  Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences worldwide.

SOURCE Starz