25/04/2014 - SF chiefs Michael Fleischer in Denmark and Guttorm Petterson in Norway will leave the company to be replaced by country managers

In a cost-cutting effort – “due to organisational changes and the centralisation of certain business-related functions,” according to the press release – Swedish major Svensk Filmindustri has reorganised its Nordic operation, replacing Svensk veteran chiefs Michael Fleischer in Denmark and Guttorm Petterson in Norway with country managers.

“Fleischer and Petterson have done tremendous jobs with their teams, and we are very grateful for what they have accomplished over the years. Through their achievements, they have pre-eminently contributed to positioning Svensk as the leading film company in the Nordic region,” said Svensk CEO Jonas Fors. “These are exciting, challenging and transformative times for the industry, and Svensk is ready to meet them – with a new strong management team, we are stepping up our production activities, developing the distribution teams and increasing our marketing activities.”

Financial director Lars Bjørn Hansen in Denmark, an as-yet-unnamed Norwegian financial director in Norway and former financial director for Finland Lars Warelius, who will return to the company, have been appointed country managers, reporting directly to Fors. At the same time, new sales and marketing managers Thomas Schultz (Denmark) and Bente Hagen Stokke (Norway) will report to head of Nordic sales and distribution Antti Toiviainen, together with Martin Brandtler (Sweden) and Timo Räisänen (Finland).

Head of Svensk in Denmark since 2000, Fleischer has developed SF Film to see it become the country’s biggest film distributor in Denmark. Its portfolio also includes film and TV production, with such recent top titles as the television series Rita and The Seaside Hotel, and Danish Oscar-winning director Bille August’s features Marie Krøyer [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and the upcoming Silent Heart.

Petterson, who has been CEO of SF Norge since 1999, has been very active in local TV and film production, including in titles such as Norwegian directors Erik Gustavsson’s Sophie’s World, Bent Hamer’s Kitchen Stories and André Øvredal’s Trollhunter [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andre Øvredal
film profile], while also adding the Casper and Emma, Captain Sabertooth, Elias and Varg Veum franchises.