After six years of being the Studio Chief of Warner Bros, current CEO Kevin Tsujihara has announced that he is leaving the position at the studio. On March 18th he announced his stepping down as CEO after being with the company since 1994. The 54 year old studio executive was helm as the first of Asian descent for a major Hollywood Studio.
According Hollywood Reporter, the now former CEO left amid allegations that he engaged in sexual relationships with an actress who he then boosted in auditions, landing her roles in key Warner Bros. films. According to Tsujihara’s attorney, he had no direct role in hiring this actress, however outside law firms are still investigating the claims against him. Tsujihara discussed in his memo about his leave by stating , “it has become clear that my continued leadership could be a distraction and an obstacle to the company’s continued success. The hard work of everyone within our organization is truly admirable, and I won’t let media attention on my past detract from all the great work the team is doing.”.
The time with Tsujihara’s lead at the studio received some mixed reactions from many in regards to business decisions. The CEO had helped started to DCEU but unfortunately to a rocky start with many films under performing including Batman vs. Superman and Justice League. Fortunately, DC has been financially stable with Aquaman making a billion dollars this past year. Tsujihara also made Toby Emmerich in charge of the Motion Picture Group which lead to biggest gross year on record with $5.7 billion dollars. While no new CEO has been announced at this time, Tsujihara’s time at Warner Bros has certainly been a memorable one.
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