Exec Watch: Jashni Legendary President, Stratton MGM Financial Officer, Universal's Fogelson Renews

Six-year Legendary Entertainment veteran production exec Jon Jashni is moving up: he's now the company's new president. He will continue as Legendary’s chief creative officer, reporting to Legendary Chairman and CEO Thomas Tull. Jashni has long had a creative role in Legendary Pictures film development and production, including The Hangover series, Ben Affleck's The Town, Zack Snyder's 300, The Watchmen and Sucker Punch, 3-D Clash of the Titans and the upcoming Pacific Rim (Guillermo del Toro), Paradise Lost (Alex Proyas) and Seventh Son (Sergei Bodrov).

Jashni will now add more business affairs and physical production duties in the film arena as well as television and comics. He will also help Tull with strategic planning, brand marketing, and growth strategy. Jashni will also join the board of Tull's new standalone Legendary East, founded in June and based in Beijing and Hong Kong, which will create global content. Prior to Legendary the exec was president of Hyde Park Entertainment, and a senior studio exec at Twentieth Century Fox and Columbia Pictures. The USC grad also earned an MBA from UCLA.

Thank you Bridesmaids. In another vote of confidence in the current studio regime, Comcast and NBCUniversal Chief Executive Officer Steve Burke has opted to extend Universal Pictures Chairman Adam Fogelson’s contract through 2014. Fogelson, who rose through the studio marketing ranks, will continue to supervise the studio's Motion Picture Group, reporting to Universal Studios President and Chief Operating Officer Ron Meyer, who recently renewed his contract through 2015. The new news is that Fogelson will now also report to Burke. Variety reports that Donna Langely is also negotiating her deal. Fogelson and Langley's fate rested on delivering a strong summer slate, which they managed to do with Bridesmaids, Hop and Fast Five, while Imagine took the rap for underperformers Cowboys and Aliens and The Dilemma; the studio recently passed on Ron Howard's ambitious Stephen King series, Dark Tower.

Over at MGM, meanwhile, cochairmen and CEOs Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum are adding Dene B. Stratton as MGM's new chief financial officer. The 20-year Disney veteran was recently CFO for internet start-up TRC Media (Ireland) Limited. When he left Disney, Stratton was CFO of Jetix Europe, after serving as senior v-p planning and control for ABC, senior v-p and general manager for DIC Entertainment, v-p business development for Walt Disney Television International in Asia Pacific, and v-p finance, European controller, Walt Disney Studios Europe.