Robert Halmi, Jr. Exits RHI

NEW YORK: Four months after emerging from bankruptcy protection, RHI Entertainment has announced the exit of president and CEO Robert Halmi, Jr., while Halmi, Sr. will remain under a long-term production agreement.

Also out at the company is COO Peter von Gal, RHI said late yesterday. Announcing the management changes, Gabriel de Alba, chairman of the board of directors, noted, "RHI is in the strongest financial and operational position it has been in years to expand its production and distribution activities. We greatly appreciate Robi’s enormous contributions and plan to substantially build on them as we take the company to the next level.”

"RHI is very near and dear to me," Halmi, Jr. said in a statement. "I’m gratified to have been able to see it through a successful reorganization and put it on a path to thrive for years to come.”

RHI has not announced who will succeed Halmi, Jr. in running the company, which is working on the mini-series Treasure Island for broadcast on Syfy in 2012.

Halmi has been with RHI since its inception in 1979. Founded with his father, RHI was sold to Hallmark Cards in 1994 and bought back in 2006. In 2008, the company conducted an IPO. In May of 2010, the company was delisted after stockholder equity fell below $10 million. RHI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2010, entering into a reorganization plan in a New York court to reduce its debt.