BERLIN — Cinespace Studios (Cinespace), a global platform of production facilities, announced today a series of key leadership changes at Studio Babelsberg, a leading German film studio majority owned by Cinespace. The appointments, which were announced at Studio Babelsberg’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on August 30, 2022, help streamline the leadership function of the Cinespace platform and further the company’s vision to build a premier global production platform for content creators across the globe.

Effective September 1, 2022, Studio Babelsberg will expand its Management Board to include five members. New members are:

• Andy Weltman, previously Managing Director at APA International and former Executive Vice President at Pinewood International, who will serve as Co-CEO and Co-Chairman of Studio Babelsberg,
• Ashley Rice, Co-Managing Partner and President of Cinespace, former Executive Vice President of Production at Legendary Television
• André Bleeker, CFO of A&O Hotels and Hostels headquartered in Berlin.

Mr. Weltman, Ms. Rice, and Mr. Bleeker will lead the business alongside Dr. Carl L. Woebcken and Mr. Christoph Fisser, existing members of the Management Board, in day-to-day operations and strategy for Studio Babelsberg. They will work in tandem with Cinespace’s existing leadership team, which includes Ms. Rice, Eoin Egan, Co-Managing Partner and COO; and Keith Gee, Co-Managing Partner and CFO. Marius Schwarz, former CFO of Studio Babelsberg, stepped down from his role following the completion of his term on June 30, 2022. He will continue to serve the company an advisory capacity.  

“I am excited to join the Studio Babelsberg team and look forward to working with the board to lead the studio into its next stage of growth,” said Mr. Weltman. “With its unique heritage and the expanded reach that the Cinespace platform brings, Studio Babelsberg is well positioned to continue to attract world-class productions to Germany and create significant job growth and economic benefits for the German film and television production sector as well as the Potsdam region.”

Additionally, industry executive Ty Warren has been elected to the company’s Supervisory Board and will serve alongside existing members Michael Abel and Maria Terzini. Mr. Warren is currently on the Cinespace board and most recently served as the Global Head of Physical Production at Netflix. He replaces Matthias Platzeck, who stepped down from his position for personal reasons ahead of the AGM.

“On behalf of Cinespace, we are pleased to welcome Andy and Ty to the Management and Supervisory Boards at Studio Babelsberg,” said Ms. Rice. “With Studio Babelsberg, Cinespace is one of the largest sound stage operators with a growing global footprint. We are excited to further integrate with this announcement and look forward to working together to support and enable great content creation.”

The Studio Babelsberg Annual Report 2021, the agenda, and the voting results of the AGM are available on the Studio Babelsberg website at www.studiobabelsberg.com/en/corporate/investor-relations/.