Former Paramount And Warner Bros. Exec Tom Lesinski Becomes National CineMedia CEO

Tom Lesinski, a former digital and home entertainment executive at Paramount, Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment, has become CEO of National CineMedia after serving on its board of directors.

Since August 2018, Lesinski had been chairman of the No. 1 in-theater advertising firm. He will continue to serve on the board as CEO.

Cliff Marks, who had served as interim CEO since late 2018, will return to his role as president.

Lesinski had led independent TV production company Sonar Entertainment as CEO since 2015. Sonar’s credits include Mr. Mercedes, Taboo, Hulu and Sky’s series adaptation of Das Boot, and the upcoming Amazon show The Hunt, which stars Al Pacino and is executive produced by Jordan Peele.

In nearly a decade at Paramount, Lesinski headed the studio’s digital and home entertainment divisions. At Warner Bros., he held executive posts in home entertainment and worldwide marketing and development. He also was president of content and distribution at Legendary.

Lee Roy Mitchell, a board member of NCM and founder and chairman of major exhibitor Cinemark, called Lesinski “an innovative leader with vision.” Over the course of the CEO search, he added, “we realized that our own chairman had the best combination of a deep understanding of our business and the wide-ranging industry experience necessary to lead NCM. Tom’s unique background in film, TV, digital entertainment, media, sales, marketing and advertising position him to expand our core cinema advertising business while developing new growth opportunities. The Board is confident in NCM’s future under Tom’s leadership.”

“Over the past five years, I have seen the power and potential of National CineMedia’s cinema advertising network and experienced the talent and dedication of NCM’s team and exhibitor partners firsthand,” Lesinski said. “NCM is the largest cinema network in the U.S., and our Noovie pre-show and digital products reach and engage hundreds of millions of moviegoers a year. These are young, cord-cutting audiences that are hard to find on traditional TV or other premium video platforms, which makes having access to them especially valuable to brands. I look forward to working to build upon the company’s strong foundation of success and continuing to accelerate its growth for years to come, further enhancing our market position to drive value for stockholders, employees, exhibitors, and advertising partners alike.”