Envision hires Jensen and Barron
November 15, 2021
International content company Envision Entertainment has announces ex-HBO Europe CEO Linda Jensen and Harry Potter producer David Barron are joining its executive team.
Envision said the appointments have been made to help plans to expand aggressively in the international premium content space. Barron will focus on boosting Envision’s slate of high-end content, and Jensen will launch an investment arm of the business which will acquire both IP and stakes in synergistic media companies. Envision founder Michael Nakan will work across both production and investment arms.
Jensen brings decades of experience building major international businesses in emerging markets, including MTV Russia and HBO’s Central European business. She has grown businesses through a combination of broadcast licensing and acquisition, asset disposal, new product and country launches, and programming acquisition and production. She pioneered HBO Europe’s premium local language programming with projects including Agnieszka Holland’s Czech language original Burning Bush (winner of 11 Czech Lions) and international Emmy award winning doc The World According To Ion B. Jensen will remain an Advisor and Board Member for Amediateka, the Russia and CIS ‘Home of HBO’.
Barron joins Envision’s production division, bringing with him decades of production experience on films such as six Harry Potter films, Legend of Tarzan, Cinderella, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle and Jack Ryan. His next feature, Emily, an Emily Brontë biopic starring Sex Education’s Emma Mackey, will be released by Warner Bros next year.
Nakan commented: “Linda and David are two incredibly well-respected figures in the global content industry. Having them join the team is a real statement about our ambitions to make Envision a world-leading international production house and IP incubator. Following our recent co-production deal with Nippon TV and the current investment round we are anticipating a period of rapid growth and to quickly become a highly respected producer of global content. We all know that great stories can come from anywhere, even countries without established content industries, and our objective is to build a sustainable catalogue of original and acquired IP in both mature and emerging markets worldwide.”
Envision recently announced a content partnership with Japan’s Nippon TV, and will produce a UK-set series for an American streamer in 2022.