Further to the announcement earlier this week of changes to Pathe’s directorship in France as well as additions to its board, Pathe UK on Wednesday [15] announced the appointment of the company’s executive vice-president Francois Ivernel to the post of chairman of exhibition circuit EuroPalaces.

Ivernel will maintain his overall responsibility for film production and distribution in the UK as well as international sales, the studio said in a statement.

EuroPalaces is a partnership between French studios Gaumont and Pathe who placed their movie theatres under one umbrella several years ago. It is the top theatre chain in France, the Netherlands and Switzerland with 910 screens at 92 sites. EuroPalaces’ revenues for 2009 totalled Euros 545m.

Ivernel began with Chargeurs in Pathe and was named managing director of Pathe Image in 1998 before becoming managing director of Pathe UK in 2000.

After turning the British subsidiary around, he was also appointed managing director of film production and distribution at Pathe France in 2007. His credits as producer or distributor include such films as Chicken Run, The Queen, Slumdog Millionaire and Camping 2.