Leftfield Appoints Co-Presidents

Gretchen Palek and Shawn Witt have been elevated to co-presidents of Leftfield Pictures, where Joe Weinstock has been promoted to senior VP of development.

Veterans of the company, Witt was formerly senior VP of programming at Leftfield Entertainment and Palek was formerly senior VP of talent and casting at Leftfield Entertainment. Witt, who joined Leftfield in 2011, has overseen such hits as Alone, Forged in Fire, Counting Cars, Tiny House Nation, Brain Surgery Live and Tackle My Ride. Palek has been at Leftfield since 2013, spearheading casting efforts for such shows as the reboot of Queer Eye, American Grit and The Book of John Gray.

Weinstock was formerly head of West Coast development for Leftfield Pictures, having joined the company in 2015. He was responsible for the development of key titles such as The Book of John Gray, Tackle My Ride, Billy the Kid: Lost Evidence, Carspotting and several others currently in production.

Meanwhile, Will Nothacker, who currently serves as senior VP of development for Leftfield Pictures, will take on an expanded role within ITV America.

ITV America President David George, to whom Palek and Witt report, said: “In Gretchen, Shawn and Joe we are bringing together a stellar team of executives, each with specific skill sets to lead Leftfield into a constantly evolving marketplace. Their knowledge of each aspect of the market and their previous work at various networks, along with their understanding of the network business model and how it is changing, will enable us to evolve and adapt alongside our business partners.”