Celestial Pictures announces today the appointment of Gillian Zhao Fang as Managing Director, China.Based in Beijing, Gillian will be responsible forgrowing all of Celestial Pictures’business lines in mainland China including channel distribution, content licensing,and film and television series production.

Leveraging the competitive advantage of Celestial Pictures’ Shaw Brothers Film Library (SB Library), the world’s largest Chinese filmlibrary, Gillian will help drive distribution of the SB Library totraditional and new media platformsin China.  In particular, Gillian will focus on developing partnerships with digital platforms and content creators in China to extend the reach of the SB Library as well as create new IPs based on iconic Shaw Brothers films and characters.

Gillian will also be ramping up Celestial Pictures’ TVseries and movie production efforts in China.  Celestial Pictures will distribute these productions globally, and select titles will also debut on Celestial’s bouquet of movie and general entertainment channels.  Finally, Gillian will provide support to the programming and distribution teams by sourcing and acquiring mainland Chinese content for Celestial Pictures’ channels and distribution outside of China.

“We are very pleased to have Gillian on board to lead our efforts in China.  She has introduced many breakthrough ideas and developed strong partnerships throughout her career. With her extensive experience and a deep understanding of the China market, Gillian will be able to strengthen Celestial Pictures’ engagement with mainland partners and step up the progress we have made in accessing China’s media market as well as its growing digital platforms,” said Mr. Ross Pollack, CEO of Celestial Pictures. 

Gillian was previously Senior Vice President, Sales and Syndication of Star (China) Ltd. responsible for the company’s advertising sales, distribution and syndication in China. Under her leadership, the China sales team made significant contributions to News Corporation’s revenue in China. Prior to joining News Corporation, she was Country Manager of Apple China and before that, Deputy General Manager of Microsoft (China).

“I am very excited to join the Celestial Pictures family. In today’s rapidly changing world where media, telecom, the internet and information technology interweave with one another, I believe my rich experience in both the IT and media industries will bring value to the company’s development in China,” said Ms. Gillian Zhao.