Megan Ellison‘s Annapurna has announced key hires and promotions, including the upping of executive Patrick Chu to head of film and television.
Hector Sanchez has joined the company as the president of interactive and new media, while Paul Doyle has also joined as head of strategy. Both new hires come from Epic Games, where Sanchez led the publishing team and the Unreal engine games business and Doyle led the corporate strategy team.
“There’s no better place to incubate stories than Annapurna, and I’m excited to return home to help forge the next generation of storytelling, leveraging Annapurna’s strengths across film and TV, interactive, animation and theater,” said Sanchez, who returns to Annapurna after helping launch Annapurna
Interactive in 2016. (Annapurna Interactive co-founder Nathan Gary currently serves as the president of the company.)
The news comes as Annapurna’s latest live-action feature, Nightbitch, is due to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Recent Annapurna titles include Nimona, the Oscar-nominated animated film, as well as series like Prime Video’s Dead Ringers.
Under Chu, film and TV will exist under one umbrella. They were previously separate departments.
“Some of the most exciting opportunities in storytelling require a more integrated approach to linear and interactive media from day one,” said Ellison. “As mediums continue to converge, we’re excited to have Hector, Paul, and Patrick to help steer the ship in this new era.”
