Seagram CFO Matschullat Will Leave in Shake-Up at Top

Seagram Co. said Robert Matschullat, a key figure in its transformation from a beverage maker to one of the world’s biggest entertainment companies, will resign as vice chairman and chief financial officer next year.

Matschullat, who will leave in June after four years with Seagram, said he is resigning to pursue other interests.

He will be replaced as CFO in January by Brian Mulligan, co-chairman of Seagram’s Universal Pictures unit. Matschullat will remain a consultant to Edgar Bronfman Jr., chief executive of the Montreal-based company.

A nine-year veteran of Seagram, Mulligan was promoted along with Stacy Snider to co-chair of Universal Pictures in June. Mulligan has had responsibility for the studio’s financial and business affairs and Snider had responsibility for production, marketing and distribution.

Snider was promoted to chairwoman of Universal Pictures and will continue to report to Universal Studios President Ron Meyer.

Snider, who joined Universal three years ago as co-president of production, has overseen such films as “The Best Man,” “The Mummy” and “American Pie.” Previously, she was production president for Sony Corp.’s TriStar Pictures.

In Matschullat, Seagram is losing an executive with close ties to Wall Street who helped the company complete about $40 billion in transactions, including last year’s $10-billion purchase of PolyGram.

The moves also mark the latest big change in the executive suite at Universal Pictures, which has been trying to rebound from a string of money-losing movies last year.

The resignation comes shortly after Seagram reported a smaller-than-expected loss in its fiscal first quarter ended Sept. 30, aided by gains in music and at its theme parks. Shares of the company, whose businesses range from Universal Pictures to Absolut vodka, have increased about 27% so far this year. They closed Tuesday at $47.69, down 56 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange.

Matschullat, a former Morgan Stanley & Co. investment banker, became vice chairman and CFO of Seagram on Oct. 1, 1995. He will not be replaced as vice chairman.

Mulligan’s promotion reflects his growing status within Seagram and the emphasis that Bronfman places on Seagram’s entertainment businesses over its beverage division.