Executive Suite

6:00 AM PDT 5/8/2012 by Pamela McClintock

The CEO and founder of IM Global opens up about his 15 movies and getting "diplomatic immunity" from Harvey Weinstein.

When Stuart Ford launched IM Global five years ago, the odds weren't in his favor. Foreign presales -- in which international distributors buy rights to a movie and in turn help finance it -- were suffering as the world economic crisis was bearing down. But Ford -- who cut his teeth working for Harvey and Bob Weinstein -- has grown IM Global into a powerhouse, increasing its sales revenue from $15 million in 2007 to $170 million last year. Along the way, India's Reliance Entertainment, seeking to extend its Hollywood foothold beyond DreamWorks into the independent arena, took notice, buying a 76 percent stake in IM Global for an undisclosed sum in May 2010.