In the wake ofthe recent departure of outspoken DVD pioneer Warren Lieberfarb, James Cardwellwas today (Jan 8) named president of Warner Home Video by Barry Meyer, WarnerBros chairman and chief executive officer. Caldwell, a widely respected 20-yearveteran of the division, leaves his post as executive vice president for NorthAmerica and Australia and now assumes responsibility for worldwide sales,marketing, pay-per-view, video-on-demand, finance, general operations,administration and supply chain management. He will report directly to AlanHorn, president and chief operating officer at Warner Bros.

"Jim haslong been an integral part of the extraordinary growth and success of WarnerHome Video, helping build the division to what it is today - the overallindustry leader with 21% of the US home video market and an unmatched presencein some 80 territories throughout the world," Meyer said in a preparedstatement.

"As WarnerHome Video begins a new era, having Jim at the helm ensures the division willcontinue its place as the global leader in home entertainment," addedHorn. "I look forward to working with Jim and his very talented team."

Cardwell is expected to announce additional personnelchanges in the division shortly. Under his previous post he oversaw thedivision's operations in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand andMexico. He joined the division in 1983 as director of planning andadministration and was subsequently promoted to vice president of worldwideoperations and then executive vice president for North America. Cardwellarrived at the company in 1977, working in the audit department at Warner Communicationsin London. He relocated to the US in 1979 as Warner Communications'corporate audit manager. Prior to that, he worked at the accounting firmCoopers & Lybrand in England and East Africa.

Lieberfarb left the companyin December after a failed attempt to introduce a restructure, which someobservers say was an attempt to wrestle greater control at the studio. While noofficial reason was given by the company, The Wall Street Journal recentlyquoted Lieberfarb as saying he was released over "policy differences onorganisation and structure". He was a leading advocate of the DVD formatand had been pressing colleagues to drive down prices in order to boost sales.