Deluxe Entertainment replaces CEO David Kassler

David Kassler is stepping down as chief executive of Deluxe Entertainment Services after less than a year on the job running one of Hollywood’s leading providers of post-production services.

Deluxe on Monday announced that John Wallace, the president of operations and technical services at NBCUniversal, has been named as Kassler’s replacement.

Wallace will join Deluxe in early September with Kassler remaining at the company during the transition. No explanation was given for the executive change.

But a spokesman for the company said Kassler’s departure was voluntary and made for personal reasons.

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The move is the latest executive shakeup at Deluxe, which is controlled by billionaire Ron Perelman and is based in Los Angeles and New York.

Kassler, a former chief executive of British technology store Phones 4U and EMI Music, was hired in November 2014, replacing Cyril Drabinsky. Kassler was tapped to help grow the century-old company as it transitions from film to digital technology.

Deluxe, which provides color corrections, 3-D conversion, digital intermediaries and other services, also has been squeezed as studios cut back the number of movies they release. Deluxe has worked on such films as “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” “Foxcatcher” and “The Maze Runner.”

Last summer, Standard & Poor’s lowered Deluxe’s credit ratings amid concerns the company would default on its loans. In a report, S&P said Deluxe’s revenue dropped 8% in the first half of the year and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization declined 32%.

In September, Deluxe said it had received a $100-million capital commitment from Perelman’s holding company MacAndrews & Forbes to help its transition to a fully digital entertainment services business.

Under Kassler’s watch, Deluxe signed deals to expand its business with the major studios, including pacts with Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. Deluxe also launched a digital cinema joint venture with Technicolor.

“It has been a true honor and pleasure to lead Deluxe during this extraordinary time of transformation and expansion so it is with regret that I am leaving this position for unrelated personal and family reasons,” Kassler said in a statement.

A 27-year veteran at NBCUniversal, Wallace had been charged with leading the company’s operations and technical services including studio, post production and distribution operations globally. Previously, Wallace was president of the NBC-owned Television Stations Group, overseeing NBC’s owned and operated broadcast television stations.

Twitter: @rverrier

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