Michael Disco has been named President of Film and Television; Kassee Whiting has been elevated to EVP; and Alessandra Mamán has been promoted to SVP alongside veteran executives Albert J. Kim and Ari Costa, bringing the company’s film and television under a single, expanded creative leadership team, AGBO Chief Creative Officer Angela Russo-Otstot announced on Thursday.
The promotions deepen an already formidable bench and reflect AGBO’s identity as an artist-led, independent company with a long record of building its leaders from within. The move reflects both where the industry is heading and where the company started.
“Audiences no longer experience stories within the lines of a single format, and some of the most impactful storytelling has never honored those borders instead, it goes wherever the story needs to go,” Russo-Otstot said in a statement. “AGBO was built on that kind of fluidity. Anthony, Joe, and I have each spent our careers moving between film and series, as have many of our executives, which made bringing the two divisions together feel entirely natural — and a deliberate way to foster that same well-roundedness across all of our leadership. It frees them to pursue whatever form best serves a filmmaker’s vision, rather than being bound to any single medium.”
Disco has been named President of Film and Television, overseeing the company’s expanding slate and setting creative and production strategy across the combined division. Disco spent close to two decades at New Line Cinema, rising to Executive Vice President of Production and shepherding thirty-four films that grossed nearly $4.5 billion worldwide — among them “Hairspray,” “Horrible Bosses,” “Game Night,” “San Andreas,” and “Rampage.” In 2019, he launched his own banner, The Disco Factory, under an exclusive deal with Warner Bros. and New Line, executive producing “The Many Saints of Newark” and producing Andy Muschietti’s “The Flash.” At AGBO, his credits include “The Whisper Man,” “John Rambo,” and “The Bluff;” and he is currently in pre-production on “Extraction 3.” His experience spans major studio films from development through worldwide release, including the large-scale franchises built to grow across formats.
“Michael’s strength has never been bound to a single format or genre. He has built global IP, mounted productions across the most competitive filming destinations in the world, and navigated a full range of release strategies, theatrical and streaming alike,” Russo-Otstot added. “That breadth is the essence of a trans-media approach — and it’s exactly what makes him the right person to guide our storytelling across both film and television.”
Whiting has been elevated to Executive Vice President of Film and Television, where she will continue to shape the company’s creative direction while overseeing her own slate of projects. One of AGBO’s most versatile executives, Whiting has built hands-on command of the production process at every stage. A graduate of NYU’s film and television production program, she began her career at Summit Entertainment in physical and post-production on the “Twilight” saga, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” and “Warm Bodies,” before overseeing production and acquisitions at Open Road Films, where her credits included “Dope,” “Bleed for This,” “Marshall,” “Home Again,” and the Best Picture Academy Award winner “Spotlight.” Her AGBO producing credits include “All Fun and Games,” “The Whisper Man,” “The Bluff” and she is currently guiding and upcoming slate of films at various studios including Amazon, Netflix, and Lionsgate.
Mamán has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Film and Television, joining longtime AGBO veterans Albert J. Kim (SVP) and Ari Costa (SVP) as senior creative leaders driving the next generation of AGBO projects. Mamán came to AGBO following seven years at Universal Content Productions, where she rose to Director of Scripted Development with credits including Peacock’s “Dr. Death,” Netflix’s “Brand New Cherry Flavor,” and Hulu’s “The Girl from Plainville.” Her credits at the studio include the local-language series “Citadel: Diana” and “Citadel: Honey Bunny,” along with “Citadel” Season 2 and the upcoming “Mercenary” series.
Kim and Costa each bring deep, cross-format experience — Kim’s work spans “Deadly Class,” “Tygo,” and the Academy Award winning “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” while Costa’s includes the “Extraction” trilogy, “Mosul,” “The Bluff,” and “Mercenary.”
“Anthony, Joe, and I could not be prouder of this group,” said Russo-Otstot. “We’ve always believed the most important thing that AGBO’s executives can be to the filmmaker is a bonafide producer and a champion — someone who points every resource we have at realizing a singular vision and then has the discipline and the patience to give that vision the room it needs to breathe. Kassee, Alessandra, Albert, and Ari embody the rare blend of ambition and meticulous care it takes to give an artist both total freedom and total confidence that every detail is in expert hands. They are a large part of why filmmakers trust us with their most personal work.”