Robert Walak has been named Co-Managing Director of Universal Pictures International Productions (UPIP), the company announced Thursday.
He comes to Universal after serving as Managing Director Europe/President Production, Acquisitions and Television at The Weinstein Company, a position he held since 2013.
Walak will be based in London and work with Managing Director, UPIP, Peter Kujawski.
“I’m thrilled to join Universal at this extraordinary time in the studio’s history as it celebrates a record-breaking year, the likes of which our industry has never seen,” said Walak. “I have great respect for Peter’s taste, which I have consistently applauded at every festival. He and the UPIP team have an outstanding track record and I look forward to building the slate and identifying new opportunities for growth in the international marketplace.”
This year marked the highest-grossing Universal’s history at the international box office, with nearly $4.5 billion to date. Moreover, the studio has enjoyed the best year ever for any studio in 48 international markets.
Under Kujawski, UPIP acquired films like “Zero Dark Thirty,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Boyhood” and “The Hunger Games.” The division also financed Working Title’s “The Danish Girl” and “The Theory of Everything.”
While at TWC, Walak led acquisitions like “Carol,” “The Imitation Game” and “The Woman in Gold.” He is also an executive producer on Weinstein’s upcoming collaboration with BBC “War and Peace.”
Before TWC, Walak was Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Production at Alliance Films/Momentum Pictures and worked in business development at Endemol. He was also a producer for MTV Europe.
Walak will begin his role effective Nov. 24.
UPIP is a division of Universal, which reports to Chairman Donna Langley, and deals with expanding the studio’s global presence through international acquisitions and productions.