The new vp of acquisitions and North American distribution arrives from Wrekin Hill where she served as a consultant and played an integral role in the release of Peter Weir’s The Way Back.

Forby will be based at the finance, distribution and sales company’s Santa Monica offices and reports to head of North American distribution Paul Gardner, who shares acquisitions oversight with president of international sales and distribution Julie Sultan. John Flock is the company CEO.

“Leilani is an excellent assessor of quality film with a very impressive background wearing several executive hats,” Gardner said. “I’ve known and worked with her for a number of years and respect her taste and business acumen. She’s a fantastic addition to the W2 team and will be instrumental in continuing the company’s growth and success.”

“I really admire everything the W2 team has accomplished in such a short time since the company launch earlier this year and am excited to bring in new films to expand the distribution pipeline,” Forby said.

Prior to Wrekin Hill, Forby was vp of acquisitions and distribution at Newmarket. She co-founded Trailblazer Films and served as head buyer at Revolution Studios’ genre division and svp of production and acquisitions at Artisan Entertainment.

W2 Media’s most recent acquisitions are the British coming-of-age dramedy Toast and the ensemble comedy Pete Smalls Is Dead.