Veteran Sony exec Steve Bruno has joined Chinese distributors United Entertainment Partners (UEP) as president of the company's North American subsidiary.
Bruno leaves his role as senior vice president international distribution at Sony International Releasing, a post he has held since March 2008.
Bruno leaves Sony after 24 years, having worked his way up from the mailroom for the international film division of Columbia Pictures. He had supervised sales and distribution for Sony in Asian markets since 2000.
Upon joining UEP, Bruno said: "I will be focusing on really growing UEP in the international marketplace both by bringing Chinese films to the United States and helping to open the market to and also bringing Hollywood and International product to China. This is a challenging task but beyond that there are opportunities to be involved in investment and production, which we will monitor and be able to get involved at the right time and with the right projects."
UEP touts itself as the number-one movie distribution network in China, with the company claiming it covers 90 percent of major cinemas in the country. In 2014, UEP distributed Hollywood titles Robocop and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in association with Sony and Free Birds with Relativity for the Chinese market. Upcoming releases include Spectre and The Walk.