Sony Pictures' CEO Search: Jason Kilar Emerges as Candidate (Exclusive)
Sony Corp.'s Kaz Hirai is expected to meet with potential successors to Michael Lynton over the coming week.
By Kim Masters
Kim Masters
More Stories by Kim
Behind Disney's Activist Investor Battle: A Marvel Mogul's Revenge Play
Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis' in Peril Amid Ballooning Budget, Crew Exodus (Exclusive)
Kim Masters on Hollywood's Year of Wishful Thinking
WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
As Sony searches for a successor to Michael Lynton to serve as CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Jason Kilar, the former head of Hulu, is the latest name to enter the mix of execs under consideration.
Kilar, the firebrand CEO of Hulu, which he oversaw for five years until his resignation in 2013, often clashed with the company's corporate owners. Subsequently, he founded and sold his streaming video startup, Vessel, to Verizon in October for an undisclosed priced, and then left that company, which sold subscriptions for early access to videos from top YouTubers, at the end of the year.
As the founding CEO of Hulu, a joint venture of ABC, NBCUniversal and 21st Century Fox, the former Amazon executive was seen as an outspoken critic of the traditional media landscape. Kilar built the business to nearly 5 million paid subscribers and then resigned as the owners began to pursue a sale that ultimately never materialized.
While Kilar's is the latest name to surface, others like former Fox chief Jim Gianopulos, who has also been in talks with Viacom to head Paramount Pictures, remain on the list of possible contenders for the top SPE job that opened up after Lynton stepped down in January.
Kaz Hirai, president and CEO of Sony Corp., is currently in Los Angeles at the studio's Culver City lot and is expected to hold conversations with candidates for the position over the coming week.
Sony had no comment.
Jason Kilar