Gita Rebbapragada replaced McCollum at the end of the month
Image via Deadline Entertainment news website Deadline reported on Friday that Crunchyroll chief operating officer (COO) Brady McCollum is leaving the company after 15 years. McCollum worked with president Rahul Purini on the transition. Marketing director Gita Rebbapragada will replace McCollum at the end of the month.
Barb Bidan will become chief people experience officer. Charles Valentine will lead the information technology and security group as senior vice president and will report to Bidan. Crunchyroll’s senior vice president of global commerce, Mitchel Berger, will continue to lead theatrical, content distribution, consumer products and home entertainment/collectibles as well as handle the export business. comic book versions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Terry Li will become executive vice president of the emerging business, and continue to lead global business development as well as the gaming and e-commerce businesses.
McCollulm was one of Crunchyroll’s first employees and started working there in 2008. He held the position of executive vice president until August 2022 when he was promoted to COO after Purini became president company. He also led the brand’s international expansion and commercial launch.
Funimation’s longtime COO Purini became president of Crunchyroll after former CEO Colin Decker left the company last year.
Crunchyroll laid off about 85 employees in February. Purini informed employees of the layoffs in an email on February 16. The email cited the merger of the Funimation and Crunchyroll teams as the reason behind the terminations. Many sources cited that the decision was not a cost-saving measure but a matter of dealing with redundant roles.
Sony’s Funimation Global Corporation completed its acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T on August 9, 2021, after the company first announced the acquisition in December 2020. The purchase price was $1.175 billion and the number Proceeds are paid in cash at closing. Funimation’s home video releases are currently listed in Crunchyroll.
Vice president and chief operating officer of anime retailer Right Stuf Christine Morgan left Right Stuf and Crunchyroll as of March 31. Former Right Stuf president and co-founder Shawne Kleckner also left the company in December . last. Crunchyroll announced in August 2022 that it had acquired Right Stuf to expand its e-commerce offerings. Kleckner and the Right Stuf team then joined Crunchyroll’s emerging business organization, led by Terry Li.
Source: Deadline (Jesse Whittock)