The digital and new media specialist will take over as sole leader of the entertainment behemoth on Mar 1 and work alongside outgoing chairman Barry Meyer, who will stay on in his role until the end of the year.

The announcement by Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes on Monday [28] to Warner Bros staff sidelines Warner Bros Pictures Group president Jeff Robinov, who has presided over such recent global hits as The Hobbit [pictured], and Bruce Rosenblum, whose Warner Bros Television Group is a major revenue producer.

In September 2011 Bewkes, seeking to create a succession plan to replace the outgoing Meyer and Warner Bros Entertainment present and COO Alan Horn, appointed Tsujihara, Robinov and Rosenblum to the office of the president. Horn has since joined Walt Disney Studios as chairman.

While it was widely assumed one of the three executives would assume overall control, Tsujihara was viewed as something of a dark horse compared to his more high-profile colleagues.

Tsujihara joined Warner Bros in 1994 and five years ago was placed in charge of the newly formed home entertainment group.

In a statement to Warner Bros staff leaked to the press, Bewkes said: “Just as importantly, [Tsujihara] is a leading voice in creating and deploying new digital models to ensure that we remain market leaders.”

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