Amazon MGM Studios is parting ways with its head of business affairs, Dan Scharf, amid on overall restructuring of operations at the ecommerce giant’s studio division.
The decision was announced by Courtenay Valenti (Head of Film, Amazon MGM Studios), Peter Friedlander (Head of Global Television, Amazon MGM Studios), and Nicole Clemens (Head of International Originals, Amazon MGM Studios) in an internal memo to staff Tuesday.
Per the execs, Scharf’s exit comes as Amazon MGM Studios is “making a change in the structure of our studio’s business affairs team.” “In line with the moves we’ve made over the past year to create three distinct studio operations, we will no longer operate with a centralized studios BA team, and instead move forward with three teams, each embedded within our Film, TV and International Originals studios, respectively,” the note reads.
A former public defender, Scharf joined Amazon in 2014. During his time serving as head of global business operations, Scharf led major deals including the relaunch of United Artists under Amazon MGM Studios and partnerships with MrBeast and Scott Stuber.
He previously held senior roles at SAG-AFTRA, Fox, Disney and the Jim Henson Company.
See below for the full internal memo sent from Amazon MGM Studios leadership to staff regarding Scharf’s exit, which was obtained by Variety, below.
On behalf of Peter Friedlander and Nicole Clemens, I wanted to share the news that we are making a change in the structure of our studio’s business affairs team. In line with the moves we’ve made over the past year to create three distinct studio operations, we will no longer operate with a centralized studios BA team, and instead move forward with three teams, each embedded within our Film, TV and International Originals studios, respectively. The three of us are confident it will streamline our dealmaking, reduce some layers, and more closely align our BA teams with the divisions they serve.
In conjunction with this change, Dan Scharf, who has for many years overseen our centralized business affairs team and a number of other functions, is leaving Amazon. Dan joined Amazon in 2014 and has been a foundational member of our leadership team at studios, helping grow the group from the 40 team members he had on Day 1 in Sherman Oaks and contributing to more talent and content deals than we could ever list in a single note. I know you’ll all join me in wishing Dan the very best in his next chapter and thank him for the incredible commitment he’s made to Amazon over the years.
Each of us will soon share more details on the new structure with our groups. Please reach out to any of us with specific questions on how this change may affect how our teams collaborate going forward.
Thanks,
Courtenay, Peter & Nicole
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