Nellie Andreeva

UPDATED: Shine Americas CEO Emiliano Calemzuk is leaving the company after a year-and-a-half on the job. Calemzuk, a former rising-star News Corp international TV executive, was brought over to the U.S. in 2007 as president of Fox TV Studios. He was named to the newly created post of Shine Americas CEO in August 2010, overseeing Shine Group’s operations in North and South America, including Reveille. During Calemzuk’s tenure, Reveille underwent a major executive restructuring, with a new management team brought in to replace the company’s long-time leadership put in place by the company’s former owner Ben Silverman. Calemzuk, who was under a 6-year contract at Shine, said that the move represents his desire for a career and lifestyle change. “After 14 years at News Corp, I want to take my own path and do my own thing,” he said. Calemzuk plans to spend the summer with his his wife and 5-year-old daughter in Italy, where they have a house, and travel with his family before returning to Los Angeles in the fall to launch his own company, something the 38-year-old executive said he wanted to do while he was still in his 30s and 40s.

Calemzuk first went for change in 2010 when he moved from News Corp-owned Fox TV Studios to then-independent Shine. But a couple of months later, Shine was acquired by News Corp, bringing Calemzuk back in the company’s fold. “I made a decision to leave the corporate world, and all of sudden I was back there,” he said. “That was good when I was 20, but not now when I have a daughter and have to spend half of each month traveling.” Calemzuk began pondering a possible departure last year, and in July brought in Shine Australia and New Zealand co-CEO Carl Fennessy as CEO of Shine Group USA. The Shine Americas team will now report to Fennessy, with no immediate plans to replace Calemzuk. Calemzuk said he made the final decision around the recent 20th anniversary of him waking up from a coma after a car accident. On January 2, he flew to London to meet with Shine Group CEO and Chairman Elisabeth Murdoch and tell her about his desire to leave. “I feel like I was reborn,” said Calemzuk who thanked Murdoch, her dad Rupert Murdoch and News Corp’s Chase Carey for their support. Said Liz Murdoch, “Emiliano has had a transformative effect on Shine’s U.S. operations since joining in 2010. In restructuring Reveille and establishing Shine Americas he has created an incredible team, equipped to now build on the successes to date and committed to future growth. He will be missed but I respect his request to take time off and wish him the very best in doing so.”

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