Lionsgate Studios Corp.
Leadership History
2 leaders · 1997 to present
Jon Feltheimer is the CEO of Lionsgate, in the role since 2000.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Feltheimer | Chief Executive Officer | 2000 | Present | 26 |
| Frank Giustra | Founder | 1997 | 2003 | 6 |
Lionsgate Studios Corp. (NYSE: LION) is a standalone film and television studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and incorporated in British Columbia. It is often called a "mini-major": smaller than Disney or Warner Bros., but with owned franchises such as The Hunger Games, Twilight, John Wick and Saw, a 20,000-plus title library, and the 3 Arts Entertainment talent business.
Since the May 2025 Starz separation, Lionsgate makes money from two segments. Motion Picture ($1.617B of FY2026 segment revenue) earns theatrical, home entertainment, digital, television and international licensing revenue from franchises such as The Hunger Games, John Wick and Saw. Television Production ($1.045B) produces and licenses scripted and unscripted series to networks and streamers and includes 3 Arts Entertainment talent management. Across both, the 20,000-plus title library generated $987 million of trailing 12-month revenue as of June 30, 2026.
Chief Executive Officer
2000 – Present
26 years (current)
Feltheimer became CEO in 2000 and led the purchases of Artisan (2003), Summit Entertainment (2012), Starz (2016) and eOne (2023), then the 2024 Lionsgate Studios listing and the 2025 Starz separation.
He built Lionsgate into the largest independent Hollywood studio by combining library acquisitions, owned franchises and selling content to outside networks and streamers.
Founder
1997 – 2003
6 years
Founded Lionsgate.
Frank Giustra founded Lionsgate in 1997 in Vancouver. A financier and mining executive, he built the independent studio through a series of rapid strategic acquisitions-including Termite Art Productions, Mandalay Television, and Trimark Pictures-aiming to capitalize on the growing Canadian film industry before eventually selling most of his stake in 2003.
Lionsgate faces theatrical volatility, streaming buyer discipline, lower episodic deliveries, labor-cost inflation, production-risk exposure, leverage, and competition from studios and streaming platforms with larger balance sheets.
Jon Feltheimer has been CEO of Lionsgate since 2000, guiding it from a small independent into a studio with $2.6 billion in annual revenue and Best Picture wins for Crash.
Michael Burns, a former Wall Street investment banker, joined Lionsgate in 2000 as Vice Chairman. Working as Feltheimer's primary financial partner, Burns structured key M&A transactions, presale financing agreements, and capital raises (including the Summit and Starz acquisitions).
Frank Giustra founded Lionsgate in 1997, serving as Chairman and investing initial capital to acquire Canadian film facilities and distribution rights before recruiting Jon Feltheimer and Michael Burns in 2000 to transform Lionsgate into a major Hollywood studio.
Key executives include CEO Jon Feltheimer, Vice Chair Michael Burns, CFO James Barge, COO Brian Goldsmith, Motion Picture Group Chair Adam Fogelson and Television Group Chair Kevin Beggs.
Between 2008 and 2011, billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn attempted a hostile takeover of Lionsgate. Feltheimer, Burns, and the board highly defended the studio's independence, repelling Icahn's bids before acquiring Summit Entertainment in 2012.
Under Jon Feltheimer, Lionsgate films have earned dozens of Academy Awards and over 130 nominations, including winning Best Picture for 'Crash' in 2006 and earning a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations for 'La La Land' in 2017.
Executive pay combines salary, bonuses and equity awards; details are disclosed in Lionsgate's annual proxy statement.
Jon Feltheimer has been inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame, honored with MIPCOM's Personality of the Year, and is widely recognized as one of the longest-serving and most successful studio heads in modern Hollywood history.
Jon Feltheimer serves as CEO. He is an absolute legend in the entertainment industry, taking over in 2000. Alongside his highly strategic Vice Chairman, Michael Burns, Feltheimer transformed Lionsgate into the absolute most powerful independent studio in the world. He is widely praised for his aggressive early adoption of digital streaming deals and massively lucrative international distribution partnerships.
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