Picture Motion Appoints Industry Leader Brian Walker as New CEO

Impact Agency Founders Christie Marchese and Wendy Cohen Join the Board of Directors

Brian Walker, CEO of Picture Motion (Photo: Business Wire)

LOS ANGELES--()--Award-winning impact agency Picture Motion today announced Brian Walker as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer. Brian will lead developing marketing, advocacy, and distribution campaigns for films, documentaries, and scripted media to activate audiences around content. Brian will join Picture Motion COO, Juliette Richey, on the leadership team to oversee the vision, business strategy, and partnerships. Founder Christie Marchese and President Wendy Cohen moved to advisory roles on the company’s board of directors.

"I’m honored to join the leadership team at Picture Motion and look forward to building upon the agency’s tremendous success by expanding impact and deepening our engagement with inclusive stakeholders including audiences, partners, and clients from underrepresented communities. This is a critical time for social and equal justice movements and Picture Motion (PicMo) is strategically positioned to elevate the important stories of these communities and to provide meaningful calls to action for intersectional audiences," said Brian Walker, CEO of Picture Motion.

Brian comes to Picture Motion with over a decade of industry-leading experience working at the intersection of culture, digital media, social enterprise, and social justice. He was most recently a Stakeholder Engagement Leader with the Enterprise Diversity and Inclusion group at The Walt Disney Company. In this role, he advised senior corporate leaders and business unit leaders on their multicultural and social justice competency development, and on strategic external relations. Prior to Disney, Brian served as the first Culture and Entertainment Advocacy Director at Color of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. He led the development of the Hollywood Culture Project, an initiative to change the rules in Hollywood, ensuring accurate, diverse, empathetic and human portrayals of Black people on television and throughout the entertainment and media landscape. He also spent time at Participant Media running digital initiatives for the social impact team.

"We started this company to use stories to accelerate change and support films in reaching and engaging audiences in new and impactful ways. We are so proud of what we've accomplished and now it's time to pass the baton to new leadership who will carry on our mission into its next chapter," said Wendy Cohen and Christie Marchese, Co-Founders of Picture Motion. "Brian Walker is a true visionary, an outstanding collaborator, and has long been a leader in this space. The combination of Brian and Juliette’s leadership will undoubtedly usher in a new and exciting phase for Picture Motion."

Picture Motion was founded by Christie Marchese in 2012, and shortly thereafter partner and President Wendy Cohen joined. Both leaders will continue to advise as board directors. Picture Motion has been an industry leader creating impact campaigns for over 200 films and media projects. Clients include National Geographic, Amazon Studios, Hulu, Netflix as well as notable independent filmmakers Garret Bradley, Smriti Keshari, Matt Heineman, Ramona S. Diaz, Sophie Sartain, Bonnie Cohen and Jon Shenk, Brett Morgan, The artist JR, James Keach, Lucy Walker, Lynn Novak, and Roger Ross Williams.

“Brian has incredible passion and a collaborative perspective on how to implement new impact strategies, the team and I are so excited to support his vision,” said Juliette Richey, COO of Picture Motion. “Picture Motion is a resilient creative force and connector in the storytelling sphere and we have so many learnings from the pandemic that will continue to inform the evolution of our overall business.”

Picture Motion made innovative pivots to virtual experiences and swiftly implemented 100% online strategies to connect audiences during the isolating pandemic. Virtual storytelling is here to stay and Picture Motion will continue to create impact strategies that are a hybrid of in-person and virtual experiences. Picture Motion will continue to uplift the impact industry with critical insights, resources, and best practices while being a collaborative force for creatives and social change leaders.

About Picture Motion

Picture Motion is the leading social impact agency developing award-winning advocacy and marketing campaigns for films, television, and entertainment. Filmmakers, studios, and brands turn to Picture Motion’s expert team of impact producers to ensure that their content gets seen, mobilizes communities, and drives impact beyond the credits. It’s our mission to leverage storytelling to inspire empathy, convene people, and ignite brave conversations and action. So we make sure the films that can change the world, do.

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Contacts

Chanel Cathey
Picture Motion / CJC Insights
chanel@cjcinsights.com

Release Summary

Picture Motion Appoints Industry Leader Brian Walker As New CEO / Impact Agency Founders Christie Marchese & Wendy Cohen Join the Board of Directors

Contacts

Chanel Cathey
Picture Motion / CJC Insights
chanel@cjcinsights.com