Julian Stanford has been appointed as IMAX's General Manager, Theatre Development for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Based in London, Stanford will be responsible for accelerating IMAX's growth and increasing its presence throughout EMEA. IMAX currently has 55 theatres open in EMEA with 15 additional theatres scheduled to open in the region by the end of 2011.

Stanford joins IMAX from Aristocrat Technologies, a global video gaming company. Prior to that he was head of sales (EMEA) for United International Pictures (UIP) and Managing Director for MGM Home Entertainment, EMEA. He will report directly to Larry O'Reilly, Executive Vice President, Theatre Development.

'The European market holds much growth potential as IMAX rolls out IMAX digital and seeks more joint venture relationships with exhibitors, and Julian's expertise will be an important boost to our efforts in EMEA,' said IMAX co-CEOs and co-chairmen Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler.