Bloodfire Studios Announces Management Changes

Posted: Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Posted By: Kevin Powers

BloodFire Studios (BFS) today announced a second major change in its management this week with the appointments of Chad Smith as the new Chief Executive Officer and Dave Fawley in the newly created post of Chief Operations Officer. Smith will replace current Acting CEO, Lee Kohse, who will return to his post as Creative Director of BFS.
In announcing their new posts, Smith said, “BloodFire Studios is on the cusp of greatness, with Kohse and Wein in place, the sky’s the limit. My plan is to shape the strategic vision to stay on par with the creative energy produced by the fantastic creative group here at BloodFire Studios.” Fawley added, "I am excited about helping BloodFire navigate this critical stage of its growth, especially the opportunity to work with such a diverse group of talented professionals.”

Lee Kohse, Creative Director and former Acting CEO of BFS, stated, “The addition of Smith and Fawley puts BFS in a position to properly handle our growth. Smith and Fawley have both guided the impressive early growth of several start-up companies and have the marketing experience we previously lacked. This new management structure will allow the business executives to keep things running smooth while the creative executives (Len Wein, Dennis Greenhill and myself) focus on the quality of our comics, stories, and the welfare of the creative teams we work with.”

Chad Smith has spent the balance of his career working in the private equity field or as an entrepreneur. Since 1999, Smith has held multiple posts with top tier firms. During his tenure within private equity, Smith was asked to take numerous operating positions in companies principally within the telecommunications and IT industry and was involved in altering the strategic vision and course of several companies. In 2006, Smith with a group of partners developed a social networking service enabling individuals to connect across telephone, mobile and Internet platforms. In 2007, Smith, with another group of partners, began financing and producing feature films. Most recently, Smith began producing a feature documentary on the Chicago Cubs entitled “We Believe, Chicago and its Cubs”, which is due out in Spring, 2009. Smith also acts as an active advisor for a select group of wealth management firms, high technology companies and film development companies.

David Fawley has over 10 years of diverse management consulting and analysis experience. For the past eight years, he has worked in strategy and business development at leading global consulting firms, focusing on the consumer packaged goods industry. In addition to providing financial and strategic insight to companies, Fawley played an integral role in the development of an emerging market research center. Fawley advises a number of startups in the consumer products and social media industries, and actively assists in their early stage development.

In 2006, Fawley worked alongside Smith to oversee the successful creation of a social networking service, achieving positive cash flow within three months of operation.

BloodFire Studios has been a leading publisher of independent comics for ten years. Their innovative stories and award-winning artists are only surpassed by their unorthodox marketing. BFS has been an industry leader in marketing their comics outside of the usual comic distribution networks, exploring such venues as car shows, movie premieres, night clubs, art festivals, and street fairs as well as comic conventions and countless in-store signings. Coupled with their early adoption of the Internet as a sales tool, BFS has managed to reach incredibly high circulations on some of their titles. BloodFire Studios' creative staff is headed by comic legend Len Wein and includes five-time Eisner nominee Jeromy Cox, film director/writer Pearry Teo, critically acclaimed artist/director Chad Michael Ward, famed pinup artist Gene Gonzales, writers Will Allred and Dennis Greenhill, and Star Wars artists Lee Kohse and Matt Olson. BFS titles include Kindergoth, Diary of Night, Vampyrates, Intergalactic, Utopiates, and DNA Hacker Chronicles, which has now been made into a major motion picture called The Gene Generation, starring Bai Ling and Oscar winner Faye Dunaway. BloodFire Studios' website is www.bloodfire.com.

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