CULVER CITY, Calif., Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Mitch Singer has been named Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), it was announced today by Beth Berke, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for the company.

Singer, who headed up SPE's Digital Policy Group since 2001, will be responsible for establishing and communicating an integrated media technology strategy for the studio. As part of this effort, he will identify digital business opportunities, explore new formats for products and services, represent SPE in industry forums and work to mitigate the growing threat of digital media piracy. In addition, Singer will evaluate emerging technologies and develop usage models that give consumers the greatest possible flexibility.

"Sony Pictures is growing rapidly in the digital marketplace, and we need a CTO to ensure that all our divisions are moving in the same direction," said Berke. "Over the past five years, Mitch has been instrumental in developing our digital policies and representing SPE in cross-industry technology negotiations. He has an uncanny ability to protect the interests of content providers while finding common ground among the content, IT and electronics industries. That is a crucial talent in bringing us to the next stage of digital distribution." Singer will report to Berke.

"Sony Pictures wants to make entertainment available wherever, whenever and however audiences desire it, and that requires strategic investments, risk-taking and vision," said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of SPE. "Mitch is the ideal person to manage our digital moves because he has a keen understanding of digital entertainment from both the business and consumer points of view."

"The digital marketplace is rapidly evolving, and it is incumbent upon us to find opportunities in these emerging technologies to improve the consumer experience and not react out of fear," Singer said. "No one person can keep on top of every development in the field, but by organizing our digital initiatives and maintaining open lines of communication throughout Sony Pictures, I hope to help keep us at the cutting edge of these exciting new opportunities."

Sony Pictures Entertainment has been a longtime leader in the arena of digital entertainment. It was one of the first studios in the DVD business and the first to sell television shows online and movies for mobile devices. SPE is also one of the pioneers in digital downloading, with more than 100 of its movies available for purchase online. Sony Pictures also includes Sony Online Entertainment, a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers around the globe. In August, SPE acquired Grouper, one of the fastest-growing user-generated video websites on the Internet.

Singer joined SPE in 1990 as Counsel in the Litigation Group. In 1991, he became Counsel to the Television Legal Group, and was promoted to Senior Counsel in 1992. He was named Assistant General Counsel in 1994 and became Vice President in the Television Legal Group in 1996. That same year, he was named head of Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment Legal Affairs. In 1997, Singer became Senior Vice President and transferred to the Intellectual Property Department for SPE. In this capacity he was responsible for traditional intellectual property issues such as copyright and trademark, new technology licensing and content protection.

Mitch Singer received both his JD and MBA from the University of San Diego.

Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment