Legendary Entertainment CFO & General Counsel Both Out As Mary Parent Builds Own Team

EXCLUSIVE: Legendary Entertainment is in the throes of more executive changes. The company’s CFO Marlin Prager, who has been with the company since 2005 and has been in that post for six years, has exited. Also leaving is chief legal counsel Martin Willhite, who has had the job since 2011. This is the third top executive that has left following Peter Loehr, the CEO of Legendary Pictures’ China subsidary Legendary East who is leaving at the end of this month. Loehr had been in the post since 2012.

Wanda acquired Legendary in 2006 for $3.5 billion, among a slew of mega-deals for the China company position itself in the entertainment industry. Those deals included acquiring exhibitor AMC Entertainment. Legendary founder and CEO Thomas Tull exited the company in January.

We hear that Prager’s contract came up and was not renewed, and it as a mutual split. Willhite’s contract was not renewed. The capable attorney was formerly a partner at Los Angeles’ Munger Tolles & Olson, so he may return to private practice.

Prager was responsible for all aspects of Legendary’s financial management, planning, forecasting, accounting and capital structure. Both he and Willhite had reported to Tull.

Mary Parent is now the new vice chairman of worldwide production and is responsible for Legendary’s film, TV, production, digital, and new-media duties. She has been putting her own team in place after coming to the spot last year first with bringing over her top lieutenants — Cale Boyter and Ali Mendes — from her Disruption Entertainment.

Legendary has been undergoing a full overhaul. It’s known that a number of people have interviewed to join Parent, but so far no one has been hired as the process of building out a new exec team continues.