Thunderbird Appoints Dennis Miller to Board of Directors

VANCOUVER/LOS ANGELES: Dennis Miller, who has extensive experience in venture capital and media investment, has joined Thunderbird’s board as director and strategic advisor.

Miller will focus on business development, acquisitions and corporate finance for Thunderbird, a Vancouver-based production company. He most recently invested in three successful SPACs—Global Eagle, Silver Eagle and Double Eagle—alongside media investors Harry Sloan and Jeff Sagansky. Miller serves on the board of directors at Radio One, Nexstar, Double Eagle and Canaccord Genuity. Previously, he was a general partner at Spark Capital, an early stage investor in such companies as Twitter, Oculus Rift and Tumblr.

Earlier in his career, Miller was the managing director at Constellation Ventures, the venture arm of Bear Stearns, where he led investments in TVONE, College Sports Network, Widevine, K12 and Capital IQ. He also helped with the reorganization of TV Guide Network and its sale by Lionsgate to CBS. He started his career as an entertainment and tax lawyer, and served as executive VP at Turner Network Television, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Lionsgate Entertainment.

Thunderbird Director Frank Giustra stated: “I am thrilled to be reunited with Dennis. We first worked together in 1998 when he joined me at Lionsgate to launch our television division. His strategy and hires were the foundation that set the stage for the success that Lionsgate TV is today. We have remained close over the years and are both looking forward to building a major content player with our partners at Thunderbird.”

Miller remarked: “The days of big studios, big staffs and big overhead are behind us—Frank created Lionsgate to fit market needs at the time and is now building Thunderbird to reflect today’s unique dynamics. As a successful investor in media and tech, I know I can be helpful to Frank and the various companies being assembled.”

Ivan Fecan, executive chair of Thunderbird, added: “Over the past two years, Thunderbird has grown exponentially. As we gear up for the next chapter, we are very excited to have Dennis, with his deep Hollywood relationships, invest in the company, join our board and advise us on strategic growth.”