Universal’s VP of HD marketing and franchise management, Robert Read, has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Worldwide HD Marketing for Universal Studios Home Entertainment (USHE) and Universal Pictures International Entertainment (UPIE).
But he will still have a focus on HD as well as 3D,according to Hilary Hoffman, Executive Vice President, Marketing, USHE, and Melanie Nicholas, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Sales & Licensees, UPIE.
Read’s expanded duties include overseeing Universal’s HiDef initiatives worldwide, serving as global strategist of all new release, catalog and television offerings on Blu-ray as well as on other new formats including 3D and digital home entertainment media. He will also continue in his current role as Brand Marketing lead on all Focus Features and Rogue Pictures product domestically.
Read will also continue in his leadership capacity on numerous Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) marketing committees, including his role as Chairman of the Blu-ray Core Marketing Team and his participation on the 3D and DEG Europe committees.
Mr. Read joined USHE in 2004 as Vice President, Brand Marketing. In 2006, he relocated to London to serve for two-and-a-half years with UPIE as Vice President, Brand Marketing for Catalog, TV on DVD, Special Interest and Studio Canal before returning to USHE in 2008.
Prior to Universal, Mr. Read served as Executive Director, Worldwide Strategic Marketing for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. He also held marketing positions at Mattel and Viacom Consumer Products. Mr. Read began his entertainment career as company manager at Tokyo-based Two-One Productions after earning a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles, in Theater, Film and Television as well as an MBA from the University of Southern California.