Entertainment Partners Names UK Boss For European Expansion

As seen in Deadline.

EXCLUSIVE: Production management and entertainment payroll firm Entertainment Partners (EP) has a new boss in Britain.

Chris Gratton has today been named Executive Vice President and Managing Director of EP’s UK business, effective today.

This will see him lead EP’s UK operations, as EP pushes out its integrated production technology offering in the UK. The company recently launched its SmartStart digital onboarding and SmartTime timecard solution in the country, adding to its existing UK production finance, payroll and production management technology capabilities.

Gratton joins EP from Ticketmaster Sport, where he served as Managing Director. There he helped to create the first-ever league-wide deal across Premiership Rugby and launch a centralized rugby marketplace.

Earlier in his career, Gratton held leadership roles at global agencies including FleishmanHillard, Octagon and Leo Burnett, working with leading brands across sponsorship, marketing and integrated campaigns.

“Chris brings an important combination of entertainment industry experience, commercial leadership and a deep understanding of how technology can help industries evolve,” said Markham L. Goldstein, President and CEO of Entertainment Partners.

“He has a track record of taking on complex challenges, bringing people and ideas together and turning new opportunities into meaningful results. As EP continues to evolve and expand what we bring to the UK market, his leadership will be an important part of helping us build on the momentum we’ve created.”

“What attracted me to EP is the opportunity to be part of a leading company that sits at the intersection of technology and entertainment, and has the scale, expertise and relationships to make a meaningful impact,” added Gratton. “I’m excited to work with the team and our clients and partners across the UK to help define the next chapter for the business and the industry.”

Gratton will be based in EP’s London office and will work closely with the company’s global leadership team.