Lions Gate Entertainment consolidates marketing operations as Nancy Kirkpatrick steps down
Lions Gate Entertainment has lost Nancy Kirkpatrick, president of marketing for Summit – a label it acquired in 2012 – during the process of integrating it with the Lionsgate studio.
Kirkpatrick resigned from the position and will leave the company in two weeks with Tim Palen, currently CMO at Lionsgate, taking over her duties and becoming the top marketer for movies coming out of the overarching Lionsgate and Summit label.
Palen has become responsible for merchandising and new businesses including theme park attractions.
Kirkpatrick – who has marketed the ‘Twilight’ films and ‘The Hurt Locker’ – most recently developed the marketing strategy for the film ‘Divergent’, which went on to gross $127m in the US in its first four weeks and another $50m overseas.
Commenting on her departure in a statement Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger, co-chairmen of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said she had “successfully completed the mission” she had been asked to perform,