Matt Brown adds duties in SPHE restructuring

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has named Matt Brown exec VP of worldwide commercial as part of a restructuring. Brown, who was previously exec VP of North America and international, will report to SPHE Worldwide prexy David Bishop. In addition, John McMahon, who has served in a number of roles across Sony Pictures' European operations, will leave the company at the end of March. "John's deep understanding of the European markets and strategic contributions to our corporate, television and home entertainment operations have played a significant role in building the successful organization we have in place there today," said Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. McMahon is managing director for SPHE Europe, overseeing European operations for the group as well as its DVD, Blu-ray and growing digital transactional businesses. His position will not be replaced. Details regarding the transition of his current responsibilities will be announced soon. As for Brown, he will now oversee all commercial initiatives in Europe in addition to his current portfolio of responsibilities. He will work closely with Aodan Coburn, exec VP of worldwide operations and licensing, in managing the Latin America and Asia Pacific regions as well as emerging markets. Coburn's expanded responsibilities come in addition to his current efforts on global licensing and supply chain. He will report to Brown on all commercial matters, and he'll continue reporting to Bishop for operations and supply chain. "Creating a single, global commercial enterprise that is both focused and nimble is a timely and strategic response to the challenges of an evolving business environment," Bishop said. "Additionally, this places our commercial initiatives in line with those of our other departments -- marketing, digital and operations -- which are all worldwide in scope. With a unified commercial network under Matt's leadership and with support from Aodan, I am confident that our European team -- and SPHE as a whole -- will continue to thrive." Brown has served in a variety of roles at SPHE and will be based in Culver City. During Coburn's more than 20-year tenure at SPHE, he has held several executive positions in licensing and operations, business development, and commercial and operations in both the U.S. and the U.K. McMahon joined Sony's legal department in 1990 and advanced to the role of VP of international legal affairs before being named senior VP of sales planning for the international television group in 1995. In 1997 he relocated to London and was promoted to exec VP of European operations and subsequently assumed the role of president and managing director, Europe for international TV. He moved to his current role in 2009. "During John's tenure as head of our European home entertainment business, he has helped us to transform this group into an efficient and nimble organization able to respond effectively to a challenging business environment. He has positioned us well to aggressively compete across this evolving physical and digital marketplace," Bishop said. "After 21 years of wonderful and varied experiences around the world with Sony Pictures, it's the right time for me to explore new opportunities in this dynamic digital entertainment marketplace," McMahon said. Contact Jeff Sneider at jeff.sneider@variety.com