Abhijay Prakash Joins Blumhouse As President As Charles Layton Segues To Vice-Chairman

deadline.com:

Abhijay Prakash is joining Blumhouse as President—succeeding eight-year Blumhouse veteran Charles Layton, who has long been a close advisor to founder Jason Blum.

Layton will segue to Vice-Chairman, staying on in a strategic and advisory role for the next two years, with Prakash now overseeing all business aspects of the company.Prakash was formerly the President of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, where he was responsible for driving the studio’s strategic and long-range planning, also overseeing the business operations of UFEG including finance, business development and administrative functions.

Prior to UFEG, he served as Chief Operating Officer for DreamWorks Animation, overseeing the animation studio’s strategic planning and primary business operations including finance, business development, technology and administrative functions, while working closely with other Universal leaders on release planning, franchise management and brand development.Prior to DreamWorks, Prakash was Chief Operating Officer for Focus Features—overseeing all aspects of finance, strategy, business affairs, physical production, distribution and operations.

Prior to that role he served as Executive Vice President, Film Strategy and Operations for Universal Pictures.“From my vantage point at Universal over the years, it was clear that nobody else in the business was as adept at figuring out how to create value from content as the Blumhouse team,” said Prakash. “I’m thrilled to make the leap to join this entrepreneurial team in helping further build this beloved, global brand, and leveraging the company’s strengths and unique business approach to access all the emerging opportunities in the film and television space.