A+E Studios Bolsters Scripted Leadership Team

A+E Studios has expanded its leadership team with key promotions and hires to support its scripted portfolio growth.

Lucia Gervino, most recently a senior production executive at Amazon Studios, has been appointed head of production. Gervino will oversee all domestic and international original scripted productions, event series and movies, including the current productions The Lincoln Lawyer and Big Sky.

At Amazon, Gervino was responsible for the franchise series The Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time, in addition to working on The Boys, The Expanse and upcoming Russo Brothers and Jonah Nolan projects. Prior to that, she spent almost a decade at Syfy Channel, where she served as head of production and postproduction. Gervino is currently a Governor for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and serves on their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.

A+E Studios has also promoted Valerie Spiller to senior VP and head of production finance, in which she will oversee the team managing the planning, budgeting, analysis and reporting for A+E Studios’ slate and Lifetime original movies.

Spiller originally joined the company in 2015 as VP of finance and has been integral in A+E Studios’ expansion into third-party productions for clients like Netflix, Hulu and more. Previously, Spiller was head of production finance and estimating at Disney/ABC from 2006 to 2015 and helped drive the success of Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Lost and Criminal Minds.

TPaul Miller has been appointed senior VP of strategy and operations. Miller will work closely with A+E Studios President Barry Jossen and the executive team comprised of creative, production, finance and business affairs to develop, evolve and implement the business strategy and day-to-day operations of the studio. His team is joined by Rachel Young, who has been promoted to manager of strategy and operations.

Miller most recently served as head of international distribution finance for Warner Bros. He also played an integral role in Amazon Prime’s international expansion and spearheaded the acquisition of Preacher.

A+E Studios also hired Tom Lerner as VP of creative affairs, joining a team led by Tana Jamieson, executive VP of creative. Lerner will oversee the development and production of A+E Studios’ scripted slate across all platforms.

Prior to this, Lerner was VP of television for Bob Cooper’s Landscape Entertainment and was responsible for running the day-to-day creative development and operations. He worked on projects such as Michelangelo for Hulu, Guests of the Ayatollah for National Geographic and Voluntary Committal for Paramount TV.

“As A+E Studios continues its expansion, the addition of these outstanding executives Lucia, TPaul and Tom, along with the promotion of Valerie, will accelerate our growth of supporting production on a global scale,” said Jossen. “Each individual is a highly respected and accomplished executive who has been a major force of creativity and innovation over their careers in the entertainment industry. With our full range of services and commitment to excellence, A+E Studios has the creative capacity to produce all genres of the highest quality scripted programming for all media platforms and services worldwide. Their expertise and leadership will help fast-track our ascension to the next level of success. Together we share a vision and welcome them to our outstanding team at A+E Studios.”