Former Shine International Executive John Pollak Joins Ben Silverman's Electus

5:43 AM PST 1/5/2012 by Georg Szalai

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As president of Electus International, he will re-team with the multimedia studio's founder and its CEO Chris Grant.

NEW YORK - Former Shine International executive vp John Pollak is re-teaming with Ben Silverman and Chris Grant at multimedia studio Electus.

Ben Silverman Names Chris Grant CEO of Electus

Chris Grant to Exit Shine International

The studio, housed at Barry Diller's IAC, said Thursday that Pollak has joined the company as president of the newly formed Electus International.

Pollak worked with Electus founder Silverman and CEO Grant at Reveille to launch Reveille International, now known as Shine International.

Pollak will oversee the international strategy and execution for Electus' slate of programming and its content labels. With experience in the distribution of such unscripted hit series as MasterChef, The Biggest Loser and Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, Pollak is also responsible for distribution of content from Electus and third-party providers.

"The Electus global business model relies heavily on the best in both international distribution and acquisitions," said Grant. "We are aggressively seeking out companies to invest in, both in the US and the UK, and one of our most important selling points is that we are not beholden to any sister companies in our distribution efforts."

He added: "Similar to the early days at Reveille, we are implementing a strategy to deliver the greatest possible revenue to our creative partners. We will not force our content through any one specific partner around the globe."

Said Pollak: "Electus International will be run with the same energy and passion that has guided each of us for the better part of the past decade and will be the driving force behind our daily efforts. And with no other agenda than to maximize revenue for Electus' companies and those of our third party partners, we will be able to independently operate in an ever-changing marketplace by distributing to all traditional and new media platforms."

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai