Allan Leighton Named Entertainment One Chairman

LONDON: Allan Leighton is joining Entertainment One as its new non-executive director and chairman after a reshuffling of the company’s board.

Linda Robinson, a lawyer and current director and vice chair of Infrastructure Ontario, has also been tapped for the board as non-executive director. The announcements come as James Corsellis steps down as chairman and Patrice Theroux leaves the board to focus on leading Entertainment One’s global film business. Corsellis will remain as a non-executive director of the company.

Leighton is the current chairman of tech company Pace and president of jewelry retailer Pandora. He’s previously served as CEO of ASDA and as chairman of The Royal Mail, among other public and private company roles. Robinson is a former partner of Canadian law firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, and has been a director in a number of companies, both public and private.

Corsellis said: “We are very pleased to be welcoming Allan Leighton to the board. Allan brings a wealth of public market and business experience and we feel will be uniquely positioned to represent the interest of all shareholders as well as support the senior management team in this next stage of the company’s evolution.

“In addition, I would like to welcome Linda Robinson. Linda brings to the board her experience from a legal career spanning more than 30 years, including significant involvement in the media space.

“The Board thanks Patrice Theroux for his considerable contribution to the board and looks forward to his continued involvement in the ongoing growth and success of Entertainment One in his role leading our global film business.”

Leighton commented: “Entertainment One has achieved significant growth over the past few years and I’m very excited to have the opportunity to be able to join the Board at such a critical time, to lead the company’s future development.”