Village Roadshow's global chief of marketing Tim Carroll is leaving the role after 11 years to launch a branded entertainment firm called Electric Branded Entertainment.
As chief marketing officer, Carroll oversaw marketing for the entire group, which has interests in cinema, theme parks, film production and distribution in countries including Australia, the United states, Italy and Greece. The company is Australian owned.
Village Roadshow chief executive Graham Burke said: "With Carroll at the helm, we have won all over the world – he is without question one of Australia’s if not one of the world’s Best Entertainment Marketers. The passion, innovation and relentless determination that he has displayed in his pursuit to win for the company has been extraordinary."
Village Roadshow has said that Carroll will not be replaced. It is unclear what this means for Village Roadshow's marketing function.
Carroll is leaving to set up his own branded entertainment company called Electric Branded Entertainment. The company will launch with offices in Melbourne and Los Angeles in July or August, with an Asian arm set to launch in 2012 or 2013, depending on the company's initial success.
Carroll told AdNews he is well placed to move into branded entertainment. "There is a $65 billion global market for branded entertainment, and it is a real growth area. This is the right place for me to leverage my background in the entertainment industry."
Carroll said he will be targeting clients from the banking, media, FMCG, technology and automotive categories.
Village Roadshow has recently sold off its interests in radio company Austereo to Southern Cross Media.
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