Vista Group International Limited has appointed Derek Forbes to the newly created role of chief operating officer. Forbes, currently president, Vista Entertainment Solutions USA, will continue to be based in Los Angeles. Leon Newnham, currently vice president, operations, VES USA will take over from Forbes as president. The announcement was made today by Murray Holdaway, Vista Group chief executive.
"Derek has been with Vista for over 15 years and brings a huge amount of film industry knowledge to his new role,”, said Holdaway. “With Vista Group companies Vista Entertainment Solutions and Movio going from strength-to-strength in the USA and new group companies MACCS, Powster and Share Dimension entering the American market, we believe a senior Vista Group position in the U.S. is needed. Derek’s background and experience makes him an obvious choice for that role.”
The chief executives of Vista Group companies VES, Movio, MACCS, Share Dimension, Numero, Powster and Flicks will continue to report to Holdaway. Forbes will be tasked with growing Vista Group's participation and visibility in the industry, including extending the company's relationships with U.S.-based movie organisations beyond VES – the long-time global leader in cinema management software for the exhibition sector. In addition, Forbes will communicate and demonstrate the wider capabilities of the Vista Group of companies to the broader film sector and assist to bring new VGL companies and products to the US market and beyond.
“I’m excited to begin this new role with Vista Group. We have invested in a number of leading film tech companies, and there is an opportunity for us to work more closely with each company to maximize the synergies we can offer with the group’s resources and market reach. I have been with Vista for many years as we have grown and evolved to our current market leading position. It’s an honor and a privilege to continue working with Murray and the rest of our amazing team as we look forward to the many opportunities still in front of us.”
Forbes, a New Zealander, joined Vista Entertainment Solutions as a software developer in 2000 when the company was a team of just five. Whilst he enjoyed the challenge of software development, he was drawn to working more directly with customers and transitioned to software implementation and product management. As VES expanded, he was soon working on cinema projects in locations as exotic and varied as Mumbai and Caracas. He moved to London in 2005 where he established and managed Vista's London UK office. Under his leadership, Vista expanded into new European territories, and the Vista UK team grew to seven (now 40).
In 2009 after a brief return to New Zealand, he moved to Los Angeles to establish and lead Vista USA.
Vista Group International www.vistagroup.co