RLJE Ups Mark Ward, Hires Content Acquisitions SVP for UMC

LOS ANGELES: RLJ Entertainment (RLJE) has elevated Mark Ward to chief acquisitions officer for feature films, while naming Angela Northington as the new senior VP of content acquisitions for Urban Movie Channel (UMC).

Ward will continue to supervise feature film acquisitions for both Image and UMC. He spent the last year serving as the lead acquisition exec for all of RLJE's movies, notably The Rewrite and The Cobbler. Prior to that, Ward helped obtain cast-driven feature films for distribution on TV, box office, VOD, digital platforms and packaged media for RLJE's Image Entertainment brand. Earlier in his career, he was the VP of acquisitions for Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Northington is responsible for pursuing acquisitions for RLJE's urban brand. She officially joined the company on March 2. Northington has spent more than 15 years working in the urban entertainment industry. Throughout her career, she has been employed by Revolt TV, CodeBlack Entertainment and Simmons Lathan Media Group.

Miguel Penella, the CEO of RLJ Entertainment, remarked: "Mark has been instrumental in growing RLJ Entertainment's feature film business, so we are delighted to promote him to our chief acquisitions officer. With the recent launch of the UMC digital channel, our chairman, Robert L. Johnson, and I were looking for the right person to grow the UMC brand and our urban library. With 15 years of experience in the urban market and her close relationships with established and emerging content producers, Angela is an ideal addition to the RLJE team."

Both Ward and Northington will work out of the company's West Coast office in Woodland Hills, California.