Huayi Brothers, one of China’s top film groups, is preparing for further growth with the hiring of senior executive Jerry Ye and completion of control of an overseas acquisition vehicle.
Ye (aka Ye Ning), one of China’s most prominent film executives, joins Huayi as CEO of movie division Huayi Brothers Pictures.
Ye had been an executive at property to entertainment conglomerate Dalian Wanda since 2002, and was previously VP of Wanda Culture. He was named ‘exhibitor of the year’ at the CineAsia exhibition and distribution convention in 2012 and last year was producer on the Wanda-Huayi-Enlight blockbuster “Mojin: the Lost Legend.”
Ye took up his new post from March 1. He is also set as a director and deputy general manager of the parent company Huayi Brothers Media.
He will oversee film production, distribution and Huayi’s exhibition activities, which is remains the group’s core segment, though the group has diversified significantly into television, fashion, music, talent management and games.
The arrival of Ye may trigger further reshuffles within Huayi, which was founded by the Wang brothers Dennis (Wang Zhongjun) and James (Wang Zhonglei) 20 years ago.
Huayi said that Ye “brings strong distribution capabilities and operational experience that will boost Huayi Brothers’ film content advantage, and make the entire value chain more powerful.”
Huayi also confirmed a change of name for the Hong Kong company Jiuhao Health that it bought into in December with social media giant Tencent and e-commerce leader Alibaba as co-investors. The Hong Kong listed company will become Huayi Tencent Entertainment Company and be Huayi’s principal vehicle for overseas acquisitions.