Maker Studios President Ynon Kreiz stepping down

Maker Studios President Ynon Kreiz will step down in January, parent company Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday.

The multi-channel network’s chief strategy officer, Courtney Holt, has been named executive vice president and head of the company, effective immediately.

Holt now reports directly to Jimmy Pitaro, the co-chair of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media.

“We are pleased that Courtney Holt has agreed to take on an expanded role leading Maker Studios as we continue to explore new ways to leverage Maker’s unique capabilities across the Walt Disney Co.,” Pitaro said in a statement.

Kreiz spearheaded the $500-million-plus sale of Maker to Disney in March 2014. He will leave the company Jan. 11. His exit would be the highest-profile departure of a Maker executive since the sale.

In August, chief content officer Erin McPherson and senior vice president of marketing Jeremy Welt left the company.

Disney’s purchase of Maker, which produces low-cost videos for YouTube, represents a major digital bet for the Burbank entertainment juggernaut.

Earlier this year, Maker said it would develop original programs based on properties from Marvel Entertainment, which Disney acquired in 2009 for $4 billion.

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