Cindy Holland is stepping down as World CEO of Elisabeth Murdoch and Jane Featherstone‘s Sister after 15 months. She is shifting to a brand new function as a senior advisor to Skydance and its CEO David Ellison as he’s plotting the way forward for Paramount upon competitors of the pending $8B merger. Former Netflix TV chief Holland is anticipated to lend her streaming experience and insights as Ellison has underscored his dedication to that a part of Paramount’s enterprise.
Holland’s departure comes as Sister’s board has determined to shut the unbiased leisure group’s Los Angeles movie and tv workplace on the finish of 2024. The employees of below 20 throughout movie and TV has simply been notified of the choice. Sister CFO Chris Fry will function interim CEO whereas a search takes place for Holland’s alternative.
“Sister has at all times been synonymous with high quality storytelling, inventive integrity and a rare crew and I’m very proud to have been part of it,” Holland stated. “I’m grateful to Liz, Jane and the entire crew for his or her partnership, and I look ahead to collaborating with them on tasks sooner or later. I’ve had a longstanding relationship with David and the senior crew at Skydance and I’m energized by the chance to work intently with them.”
In her first government job since exiting as Netflix’s head of English-language originals in fall 2020, Holland joined Sister in July 2023. She got down to construct out a full-fledged U.S. studio operation of the U.Okay.-headquartered firm, which had planted a flag within the U.S. in 2019, investing in a number of smaller outfits.
Over the previous yr, Holland introduced in former Netflix executives Jane Wiseman as Head of U.S. Tv and Efrain Miron as President Of Technique & BA, and signed expertise offers, together with pacts with Natasha Lyonne’s Animal Footage and Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij. The crew has put TV tasks within the pipeline which are awaiting greenlight, a course of that has turn into slower and extra arduous post-Peak TV.
Throughout Holland’s tenure, Sister US has obtained a movie greenlight from Netflix for The Girl in Cabin 10.
The choice to shut the Los Angeles workplace adopted a overview of the Sister board which examined the robust market situations which have been exceserbared by the pandemic, double Hollywood strike and the continued trade contraction. They opted to not change Holland’s function within the U.S. and, as Sister continues its pursuit of profitability, to focus the corporate’s efforts and assets on the UK market the place it has been profitable with a slew of TV sequence commissions.
“Cindy is a superb, gifted government and anybody could be lucky to work along with her. I’m actually grateful for her stewardship and her management, and hope we’ll collaborate collectively in a brand new capability for a few years,” Murdoch stated. “These are difficult instances for manufacturing firms, requiring tough choices. The Board believes, as I do, that we are able to considerably enhance sustainable progress and strengthen our Group by doubling down on our confirmed observe document of efficiently producing from the UK for a worldwide viewers. Our distinctive UK base for Sister movie and tv operations that sells and produces for the US and the world shall be our mannequin shifting ahead. I’m grateful for the work of the Sister US movie and tv crew, and we are going to handle them.”
Throughout her Netflix tenure of practically twenty years, together with 9 years as VP Unique Content material, Holland established the streamer’s authentic programing technique and spearheaded the crop of scripted sequence that put the streamer on the map, together with Home of Playing cards, Orange Is The New Black, BoJack Horseman and The Crown, and in addition championed newer hits akin to The Queen’s Gambit.
Since her departure in September 2020, Holland had taken on board and advisory roles earlier than returning to the chief ranks with the Sister CEO place.
