London and Montreal-based creative studio Cinesite has announced the hire of industry veteran Marianne O’Reilly as chief operating officer for its feature animation studio in Montreal, Quebec. Based out of the Montreal studio, O’Reilly will be responsible for the oversight, development and management of Cinesite Animation service work as the studio continues to grow its roster of animated feature films. Under her leadership, the Cinesite Animation studio will increase its capacity to span two floors within the building to support of the current productions on 3QU Media’s four-film slate.
Cinesite CEO Antony Hunt believes O’Reilly’s appointment marks a significant turning point in Cinesite’s diverse service offering, commenting, “Marianne brings a powerful voice and vision to Cinesite’s animation leadership team. Her depth of experience across both animation and VFX businesses, coupled with her strong industry connections, will be invaluable to our ongoing evolution and organic growth. Her appointment further strengthens our world-class team of executive talent, and reflects our fundamental belief that our growing animation studio is on track to become one of the global players.”
O’Reilly added, “I’m thrilled to take on the COO role at this critical time, and to connect again with colleagues in the Montreal film community. Cinesite Animation is a dynamic studio with a strong reputation, growing from 3QU’s slate of films and beyond. We have a number of exciting projects ahead, and I’m looking forward to collaborating with our clients and supporting our talented international crew. Montreal is a city with great heart and beauty; a perfect backdrop for storytelling. I’m happy to call it my new home.”
O’Reilly joins from the renowned Vancouver Film School, where as head of animation and visual effects she was responsible for 300 graduates per year and a 65 strong faculty. Having started her career at Rainmaker Entertainment as a visual effects producer, she progressed to the role of president of the visual effects and animation division. During her tenure O’Reilly helmed an award-winning team of producers, supervisors, artists, department heads and administration in Vancouver and London. Other notable career highlights include effectively leading all aspects of the Vancouver and London CIS facilities, while navigating the successful transition from Rainmaker to CIS upon purchase by Deluxe Entertainment in 2008.
O’Reilly’s appointment follows Cinesite Animation welcoming its new CCO, former Illumination Entertainment executive Dave Rosenbaum. Together they will aim to grow and expand the company into the leading feature animation studio in North America.