Arons named as Machinima GM

Warner Bros has announced that its former senior VP of worldwide marketing Russell Arons has become the new general manager of Machinima.

Arons will work with existing Machinima CEO Chad Gustein for a period after which he will leave the company to pursue other projects. Arons will from that point take personal charge of Machinima’s marketing services, data analytics, business development and creative operations.

She joined Warner in 2009, having previously worked at EA Play.

Russell is a terrific creative executive with exceptional audience experience and brand building capabilities. With deep knowledge in gaming, she speaks the same language as our Machinima creators, community and team, and has the proven ability to build and unlock strong consumer relationships,” Warner president of business and strategy Craig Hunegs said.

In her new role, Russell will deepen Machinima’s relationship with an audience that’s important to many Warner Bros. divisions to further optimize our marketing and direct-to-consumer activities and serve as a hub for social video across the company.

I’d also like to thank Chad for his many contributions over the last three years. He’s done a great job leading Machinima’s team as they’ve strengthened their creator network, improved audience engagement and launched a content studio. I know he’s eager to take on a new venture, and everyone at Warner Bros. wishes him great success.”

Machinima is one of the largest digital video entertainment companies in the US and has partnerships with Playstation, Amazon, The Cartoon Network and Verizon. It boasts 3.8bn monthly views and 19bn minutes watched per month.

Warner agreed to acquire Machinima late last year.