Christie® has announced that Jack Kline, a pioneer in digital cinema technology
and architect of the innovative Virtual Print Fee (VPF) that accelerated the
adoption of digital projection in movie theaters and created a revolution in
global entertainment, is stepping down as Chairman, President and CEO of
Christie after 40
years with the company, effective April 1, 2019.
Current
Chief Financial Officer Kazuhisa Kamiyama will
assume the role as Chairman and CEO, while Kline remains at the company as an Executive
Advisor to the CEO until April 1, 2020 to assist in a smooth transition.
“I am fortunate to have
worked at Christie my entire professional life and to have played a critical
role in leading the company into the digital age, helping it become a global
force in digital display technology,” said Kline. “I have full confidence in
the future of Christie, which is filled with talented, dedicated and highly
motivated people who are focused on developing innovative technology and
service to our customers.”
Added Kamiyama, “Jack’s leadership and
strategic vision were instrumental in helping Christie to establish its market
dominance worldwide, while also helping it to successfully navigate the diverse
market challenges as the industry and the competition evolved. His exceptional
qualities as a leader also set the performance standard for management and
staff at all levels and, today, continues to guide, motivate and inspire new
generations of leaders within the company.”
An Industry TrailblazerDuring
his tenure at Christie, Kline was responsible for leading the company’s
visionary growth strategy that included the purchase of Canada’s Electrohome
Projection Systems in 1999; and, shortly afterwards, becoming the first OEM to license
and bring to market digital cinema projectors using Texas Instruments’
DLP Cinema® technology. The move catapulted
the company from a 35mm analog projector manufacturer to a global provider of high power, high performance
digital projection solutions. It established Christie as a leader in the
exhibition industry and set the stage for Christie’s dramatic growth into a digital
display powerhouse, with annual sales surging from several hundred million to nearly
a billion dollars.
In 2005, he
successfully created strategic
partnerships with major Hollywood studios, exhibitors, projector manufacturers,
and technology providers to advance the installation of digital cinema. He then
played a critical role in developing the Virtual Print Fee
(VPF) financial solution and the Christie/AIX deployment program that introduced
thousands of cutting-edge digital cinema projectors into the marketplace. The program’s success played a key role in sparking
the adoption of digital cinema projectors and launching a revolution in
entertainment worldwide. In recognition of his accomplishments, he was
presented with the ‘Ken Mason Inter-Society Award’ at CinemaCon in 2014. The
award honors individuals who provide “outstanding long-term contributions
leading to the overall improvement of the motion picture experience.”
Kline
also led the revolution in managed services in 2009 with the launch of Christie
Professional Services and the Christie Network Operations Center (NOC), a
state-of-the-art facility that offers 24/7
remote monitoring and configuration management of customers’ visual display
systems throughout North America. He continued to strengthen and expand Christie's global
footprint through the distribution of high performance digital projection
displays and visualization solutions across the company's major divisions,
including Cinema, Enterprise/Entertainment and Content Management &
Processing (CMP).
A
History of Service and Community Outreach
Kline joined Christie in 1979
as a National Sales Representative and was promoted to Vice President of Sales
and Marketing in 1988. He was named
Executive Vice President and COO in 1997 and appointed President and COO in
1999. In 2014, he assumed the role of chairman, president and CEO of all of
Christie’s operating companies, worldwide. Kline is a member
of various industry organizations, including the Society of Motion Picture
& Television Engineers (SMPTE), the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers,
and the International Cinema Technology Association (ICTA). He is also actively
involved with numerous charities, including the Lollipop Theater Network, the
National Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.) Society, Rise Against Hunger, Orange County
Business Leadership Committee, and Variety – The Children's Charity of the
United States.
Kazuhisa joined Christie’s parent company Ushio Inc. in
1995 and became CFO of Ushio America in 2003. He was named General Manager of
Accounting in 2011 and Executive Officer, General Manager of Ushio’s Corporate
Headquarters (parent company of Christie and Ushio America) in 2016, overseeing
company financials that included investor and bank relations, and Mergers &
Acquisitions. He graduated with an MBA from the International University
of Japan.
“Jack’s vision
and his spirit of innovation will remain integral parts of the company’s
success for years to come,” said Kamiyama.