Darren Seidel,
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer,
Entertainment Partners
Darren Seidel is the CFO and COO of Entertainment Partners, where he oversees finance and operations for the company. In this role he is responsible for leading all finance activities including FP&A, accounting, treasury, tax, strategy and M&A. Recently he helped negotiate the sale of the company to Texas Pacific Group as well as multiple acquisitions including the purchase of EP Canada and Canada Film Capital. He was also an integral part of executing EP’s investment in and eventual sale of Exactuals to City National Bank.
In addition, he is responsible for leading the executives in charge of key company businesses including Payroll, Central Casting and Residuals. His focus is to ensure that all systems, processes, resources, and people are in place to achieve the goals of each business and the company. His oversight of the Operations Leadership Group and Process Excellence teams help build employee alignment with company goals to deliver key performance targets for each business and the organization.
He previously served as Senior Vice President of International Finance at Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group (WBHEG) where he oversaw international finance across Warner Bros. Home Video, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. In this role, Seidel was responsible for forecasts, budgets, long term strategic plans, acquisition analysis, special projects, greenlights, and ultimates for WBHEG’s international businesses. He managed a group of finance professionals inside and outside of the United States that brought a holistic financial and strategic view across the video, digital, and games businesses.
Prior to joining Warner Bros. in 2010, Seidel spent eight years with The Walt Disney Company where he held a variety of positions, from helping lead Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment business in Asia Pacific and Latin America to the head of finance for a Disney Consumer Products business unit, as well as integrating and growing The Baby Einstein Company after it was acquired by Disney. Before Disney, Seidel served as co-founder of Netsmart, a business-to-business Internet service company where he had responsibility for finance, operations, marketing, business development, and corporate strategy. He has also held finance, strategy, and business development positions at TVN Entertainment, Nissan Motor Corporation, and Ford Motor Company.
Seidel is involved in a wide variety of community groups from leading school fundraising efforts to being a member of the Western Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Seidel holds an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.
