Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group Names Charles Farmer To Newly Created CEO Role

deadline.com:

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group has hired former MGM TV executive Charles Farmer to the newly created role of CEO.The move and the simultaneously announced naming of Really Useful’s David Chance to the role of Non-Executive Chairman are designed, the company said, to increase the reach and impact of Lloyd Webber’s work in TV, film, and other platforms.“The Covid-19 pandemic forced us all to look for new ways to develop, produce and share our work,” Lloyd Webber said in a statement. “While I am thrilled to see live theatre firmly back on its feet, we also have major ambitions in the worlds of TV, film, the metaverse and beyond.

I am delighted to have Charlie and David on board to help us achieve new and exciting things.”Chance, who joined the Really Useful board in April 2021, will take over the Non-Executive Chairman position from Mark Wordsworth, who will focus on his Executive Chair role at the company’s LW Theatres.

Lloyd Webber said of Wordsworth, “As he steps down as our Chairman, I also want to acknowledge the immeasurable contribution of Mark Wordsworth, the Chair of our board for 15 years.”CEO Farmer is the former Executive Vice President of MGM International Television Productions, and will work closely with Really Useful President Jessica Koravos, who has led global theatrical licensing for over 9 years and will continue to lead that area of the business.Farmer worked at MGM from 1999 until 2021, serving as Senior Vice President and Managing Director and finally as Executive Vice President.

He worked in a variety of roles in MGM’s operations across Europe and Asia including  oversight of TV distribution in EMEA, India and China.