Andrew Fenady is stepping down as president of physical production at Universal Pictures and Jeff LaPlante is stepping in.
Fenady announced Wednesday that he is leaving to pursue other opportunities in a letter to colleagues.
“I’ve been with Universal for more than 16 years working in physical production,” Fenady wrote. “I’ve loved every minute of my time here from the greatest victories to the toughest challenges, and there has been no shortage of either. It’s been a great honor to lead the physical production team for the last seven years and to have touched so many terrific films and worked with so many great filmmakers.”
Fenady also said that he had asked LaPlante, the current executive vice-president of physical production, to take his place.
Chairman Donna Langley spoke for the studio on Fenady’s exit.
“Andrew is an incredibly hard working and talented production executive,” she said. “He has been a fiercely loyal and passionate leader for our physical production team and we’ve been privileged to have him here at Universal for so many years. He will be sorely missed, but I know he will be successful in anything he decides to pursue.”
In his current role, LaPlante oversees aspects of physical production including budgeting, scheduling, hiring of crews and day-to-day operations. While at Universal, LaPlante has overseen physical production for films in the blockbuster “Fast & Furious” franchise as well as “Despicable Me,” “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “Unbroken” and “Snow White and the Huntsman,” among others.
LaPlante joined Universal Studios in 2000 as a senior finance executive. In 2003, he was promoted to vice president of production finance. In 2007, he was promoted to senior vice president of physical production before being appointed to his senior position.
Fenady will have to do some adjusting.
“Universal has been my home and you’ve been my family for almost two decades now, and honestly I can’t really imagine not coming to the Lot to work every day,” Fenady wrote. “I’ve given this company no less than 100 percent of my service, but it’s time for me to find something that affords me the ability to divide myself a bit more evenly.”