First Look Media promotes Ian Stratford to COO

First Look Media, parent company of award-winning entertainment studio Topic Studios, has promoted Ian Stratford to Chief Operating Officer.

As COO, Stratford will be responsible for leading the operations, corporate development, finance, and business and legal affairs of First Look Media's portfolio of assets in the entertainment and non-profit industries.

“Over the past few years, we have strategically developed First Look’s structure to position the company for further growth in the changing media landscape. “Ian has played a key role and will continue to do so in his expanded role,” said Michael Bloom, CEO of First Look Media and Topic Studios. “In the new phase of our company, we will do even more to help artists create career-defining projects that tell bold, original stories that not only reflect culture but define it.”

“I am honored to take on this new role and excited about the opportunities it presents for First Look Media, Topic Studios and the company as a whole,” said Stratford. “As the film, television and podcast industries continue to evolve, we are well positioned to be adaptable and opportunistic in the projects we undertake, the companies we build and the partners we support. I look forward to continuing to work with our great team to achieve our ambitious goals.”

First Look Media's asset portfolio is led by Topic Studios, the film, television and podcast studio that has produced over 35 film and television projects, eight Academy Award nominations (two wins), six Golden Globe nominations (one win) and received nine Emmy nominations (two wins).

The studio is behind critically acclaimed films such as Jesse Eisenberg's upcoming “A Real Pain,” out November 1st from Searchlight Pictures and starring Kieran Culkin and Eisenberg. In addition, First Look Media holds strategic investments in dedicated streaming services MHz Choice and PassionFlix and operates the First Look Institute, a nonprofit organization that includes Field of Vision, The Intercept, Lawyers for Reporters and The Press Freedom Initiative at the University of Maryland supports.

Stratford, who has been with First Look for over three years, previously served as Chief Legal Officer and Head of Business & Legal Affairs. Prior to joining the company, Stratford spent four years at Endeavor, where he was a founding member of Endeavor Content and part of the executive team that led the studio to a $1 billion valuation and eventual sale of its scripted television and feature films of $785 million made assets to CJ ENM.

Prior to Endeavor, Stratford was a partner at Gray Krauss Stratford Sandler Des Rochers LLP, where he served as a strategic advisor to various media companies and led the firm's film and television financing practice.