Taichi Fukuda has been appointed as general manager for Warner Home Video (WHV) and Warner Bros Digital Distribution (WBDD) in Japan.

The appointment was announced by Warner Entertainment Japan president and representative director William Ireton, and WHV and WBDD vice president, Asia and Pacific, Marc Gareton.

In the newly created position, Fukuda will manage both the studio’s home video and digital distribution business in Japan, including sales, marketing, finance and operations. This includes managing the transition to HD packaged material and driving the growth of digital in the territory.

Yoshikiyo Arai, who has been general manager for Warner Home Video in Japan for almost three years, will serve as advisor until his planned retirement in December.

“Japan has the world’s second-largest economy and is a technology leader,” said Ireton.  “By unifying the home video and digital distribution businesses in Japan under Taichi, Warner Bros will be well positioned to take full advantage of the cross-divisional opportunities that exist in this very important market.”

Prior to joining Warner Bros, Fukuda worked for General Electric in Japan and most recently served as managing director, Japan representative for NBC Universal International. He also served as acting managing director and chairman for Geneon Universal Entertainment.

Topics