Entertainment One has restructured its sales team in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with EVP of sales Dan Gopal departing at the end of the month. “We have a strong position in the international market buoyed by recent ground-breaking deals and thrilled that Spyro will be building on our expansion across EMEA with eOne’s film slate as well as the continued success of our new and returning series,” Stuart Baxter, eOne’s President of international distribution, said.
Gopal is being replaced by Spyro Markesinis, who was most recently EVP of business & legal affairs at eOne and now becomes EVP of sales in EMEA. He reports to Baxter. Markesinis will oversee eOne’s EMEA team selling scripted and unscripted shows to broadcasters and AVOD/SVODs, as well as feature content. “We couldn’t be more excited for Spyro to expand his role with eOne and bring his extensive understanding of the international marketplace, expertise in strategic deal-making and incredible work-ethic to this critical position,” Baxter said.
Markesinis started with eOne in 2013 following the acquisition of Alliance Films and was appointed head of business and legal affairs for the newly combined distribution operation in the UK. In 2016, his remit expanded to worldwide film distribution, taking on international distribution the following year. “We have a fantastic EMEA sales team who work tirelessly to bring eOne’s diverse and compelling slate to our partners across the region and I look forward to working with them to further advance our prominent position within the industry,” Markesinis said.
Gopal start with eOne from ITV Studios Global Entertainment in 2017 to take up his MENA-focused sales role, which promoted him in 2019 as part of a three-pronged EVP team following Hasbro’s USD $3.8 billion acquisition of eOne. Prior to that,he worked for Disney Media Distribution before moving to Miramax to run its EMEA distribution business after private equity bought the business from the Mouse House. His departure is a result of a new promotion in an unnamed location. “I’d like to acknowledge Dan who has been instrumental in expanding this division and strengthening our role as one of the top distributors in the UK, EMEA, and worldwide and we wish him all the best on his next chapter,” Baxter said.