Sal Ladestro has been promoted to senior vice president of marketing and distribution, acquisitions and local productions, for Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International.

Ladestro will report to Nigel Clark, senior executive vice president of marketing at CTFDI, on all matters relating to marketing, and to Mark Zucker, senior executive vice president of CTDFI, in all matters relating to distribution.

Ladestro will continue to develop, implement and supervise international marketing and distribution strategies for films from all SPE divisions including Sony Pictures Classics (SPC) and Screen Gems as well as films produced the studio's local divisions in Asia, Germany, Brazil and Spain. In addition, he will periodically supervise the international release of selected titles from the Columbia Pictures production pipeline as well as acquisitions made through Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group.

Ladestro, who was most recently vice president of marketing and distribution, acquisitions and local productions, has overseen titles such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon from Columbia's Asian arm, Snatch which originated in the UK, The Road Home and Not One Less from director Zhang Yimou which also came via Asia and Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run which was an SPC pick-up.

Ladestro joined the company in 1992 and was made vice president in 1994, implementing international print and audiovisual creative campaigns for all CTFDI releases.

Among upcoming campaigns on which he will work are John Sayles' Sunshine State, Paul Schrader's Autofocus, Guy Ritchie's Swept Away, Paul Anderson's Resident Evil and three titles from Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia - Big Shot's Funeral, So Close and Double Vision.