Celestial Pictures Bolsters Channels & Digital Businesses

HONG KONG: Two new hires have been made at Celestial Pictures, marking the company’s entry into the social games arena and the expansion of its channels business.

Justin Weng has been named VP of game development and licensing. He will be in charge of developing social games based on the Shaw Brothers film library as well as the company’s new feature films and TV content. He is also responsible for licensing the games to online and mobile platforms. Weng joins from the Chinese online game provider Giant Interactive, where he served as the senior business development manager. Weng will be based at the Beijing office, reporting to CEO Ross Pollack.

Keith Mak was named director of channel distribution. He is responsible for the distribution and development of the channels Celestial Movies, Celestial Classic Movies and WaTV. Mak has some ten years of experience at BBC Worldwide, where he was most recently the manager of distribution and development for East Asia for the global channels business. Mak will be based in the Hong Kong headquarters, reporting to Ofanny Choi, the senior VP of TV channels.

Pollack commented of the hires, “We are continuing our momentum of strategic growth and new business development with the appointment of two experienced and well-regarded executives. Justin joins us with a proven record at top gaming companies to help launch our social games business. Keith will drive our channels’ expansion with the experience he gained growing the BBC channels in this region.”

Weng said: “The social games business continues to grow along with the growth in social media networks and casual and mobile gaming. Celestial’s Shaw Brothers film library, with its iconic characters and stories, is a rich source to tap for the gaming industry. I am very excited to have this opportunity to leverage my experience to grow this business for Celestial.”

Mak remarked: "I am thrilled to be joining Celestial as the company looks to aggressively extend the penetration of its channels and explore new channel opportunities. With three strong and distinct channels representing a complete Chinese entertainment package, I look forward to growing Celestial’s channel bouquet in the region and beyond.”