101 Studios Adds to Executive Ranks With Leadership In Distribution And Finance

The recently announced 101 Studios has brought on Michele Newman as Executive Vice President of Finance and Strategy, Laurent Ouaknine as head of US Distribution and Ennis Hensley as head of International Sales & Distribution. Newman will helm financing, strategic planning, business development and operations. Ouaknine will be tasked with overseeing all facets of domestic theatrical rollout for the studio's films while Hensley will oversee international distribution in addition to managing the studio's rapidly growing number of international relationships.

"Michele, Laurent and Ennis bring with them a wealth of experience that will help 101 Studios become the home to talent who are looking for high quality collaboration and innovative teamwork," stated David Glasser and David Hutkin.

After 25 years in senior executive roles as studio executive at New Line Cinema and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, commercial banker, and Wall Street analyst, Newman provides broad financial, operational and market expertise in the rapidly-evolving media industry. She has structured asset based loans, worked with investors on both the buy and sell sides, overseen a studio's distribution of a 600-title film library, and managed M&A deals. As a former head of business affairs and finance, she also negotiated development, production and distribution deals.

As former President of Distribution for TWC, Ouaknine is a seasoned Executive with over 20 years of experience as a Distribution and film buying professional. With a track record for excellence, Ouaknine has shepherded the releases of critically acclaimed and commercial blockbuster hits generating over $2 Billion in domestic box office, garnering over 70 Academy Awards nominations and 18 Academy Awards with titles including THE ARTIST, THE KING'S SPEECH, DJANGO UNCHAINED, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, LION, WIND RIVER and INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, to name a few.

Hensley most recently served as the President of International Sales and Distribution at TWC. He joined TWC in 2009 during the company's restructuring with Goldman Sachs, and in 2014 was PROMOTED to the company's top international sales position. He led the sales and distribution strategy on such films as THE HATEFUL EIGHT, LION, SOUTHPAW, WOMAN IN GOLD, and THE NUT JOB. During his nine-year tenure, Hensley executed sales on over 60 feature films, resulting in nearly $725 million in international box office revenue and $200 million in international sales. Prior to TWC, he was the VP of International Sales at Yari Film Group, and also served on the IFTA Board of Directors from 2014-2018.

ABOUT 101 STUDIOS

101 Studios launched earlier this year with over $300 million in financing for their film and television distribution studio. They recently closed on a $28.5 million television deal with Viacom for the first and second seasons of Yellowstone, the Taylor Sheridan modern-day western drama starring Kevin Costner. The program just wrapped on its second season. YELLOWSTONE airs on Viacom's Paramount cable network and was the second-highest rated drama program on cable in its first year.

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