Warner Bros. alum Sue Kroll has been named head of marketing for Amazon Studios after serving as lead consultant on the streamer’s extensive rollout campaign for the first season of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”
As part of her new role, multiple series and films in production and development at Kroll’s Kroll & Co. Entertainment banner will move to Amazon under a first-look deal.
Kroll begins her position with Amazon Studios effective immediately. She will report directly to Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke.
Before launching her own production house in 2018, Kroll served a long tenure as the president of worldwide marketing and distribution for Warner Bros. Pictures, debuting all of the films in the “Harry Potter” franchise, as well as “Argo,” “Inception,” “Dunkirk” and “Mad Max: Fury Road,” among many others.
“Sue has done an outstanding job leading the marketing efforts for‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,’our biggest premiere in the history of Prime Video,” Salke said in an internal email announcing Kroll’s hire Monday. “She is widely respected, with deep industry knowledge, extensive experience, and strong relationships with talent and throughout the creative community. She is a seasoned professional, having marketed projects ranging from blockbuster global releases to award-winning niche film and television projects for over 30 years.”
Kroll is taking over the job that former Amazon Studios/Prime Video CMO Ukonwa Ojo exited in June. Ojo wasn’t long for the job, having replaced Andy Donkin in the chief marketing role in 2020.
Read Salke’s memo announcing Kroll’s hire in full below.
Hi team,
I’m thrilled to share the news that Sue Kroll is joining the team as Head of Marketing, Amazon Studios, effective immediately and reporting to me. Sue will oversee global marketing strategy and campaigns for series and films, both direct-to-service and theatrical.
Sue has done an outstanding job leading the marketing efforts forThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,our biggest premiere in the history of Prime Video. She is widely respected, with deep industry knowledge, extensive experience, and strong relationships with talent and throughout the creative community. She is a seasoned professional, having marketed projects ranging from blockbuster global releases to award-winning niche film and television projects for over 30 years.
In 2018, Sue launched her own production house, Kroll & Co. Entertainment. Under this banner, Sue has a number of projects in production and development, both in film and television, which will now come to Amazon Studios as first-look deals.
Before founding Kroll & Co., Sue’s broad experience includes serving as President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for Warner Bros. Pictures, where she launched some of the most popular and acclaimed films in cinema history, including Argo, Dunkirk, Mad Max: Fury Road, Inception& all of the Harry Potter films, to name a few. Sue began her career in New York, spending seven years in various divisions of Viacom before moving to Atlanta to head up the marketing department at Turner Network Television. Her tenure with Turner included a role with TNT and Cartoon Network Europe, in which she launched the company’s first entertainment venture outside the United States.
Please join me in congratulating Sue and officially welcoming her to our talented marketing team, as we continue to grow, discover innovative ways to market our global content, and strengthen our connections with customers around the world.
Jen
