Jason Pecora '00 Named Executive Vice President, Distribution of Vertical

(Article originally appeared on Deadline.com here.)

Vertical on Wednesday announced their appointment of former Amazon Prime Video exec Jason Pecora '00 to the newly created role of Executive Vice President, Distribution.

The L.A.-based Pecora will be responsible for overseeing Sales, Marketing and Operations. He begins immediately, reporting to Vertical Partners Peter Jarowey and Rich Goldberg.

Pecora spent more than four and a half years as Senior Content Acquisition Manager at Prime Video, during that time overseeing all title promotions with leading suppliers including Vertical, Paramount, Viacom, Lionsgate, MGM and AMC. Notably, he last year oversaw Amazon’s release of Top Gun: Maverick, which was the top-selling item on the platform in the U.S. across every category on the day of its release.

Pecora has, over his 14 years in entertainment, consistently succeeded in growing businesses and contributing significant returns on investment through strong industry relationships. He previously focused on the digital home entertainment space at such companies as AT&T U-verse and 20th Century Fox, after earning a BS in Marketing from the University of Arizona and an MBA from UC Irvine.

Said Vertical Partners Jarowey and Goldberg, “As our company continues to grow, we identified the need for a leader dedicated to expanding, and enhancing, our Distribution footprint. We could think of no one better than Jason, so we made the offer, and we are thrilled he accepted. We have had a great relationship with him for years and witnessed firsthand his drive, enthusiasm, and creativity for our business. And now as part of the team, we are confident that he will up the stakes and work with us to ensure Vertical continues to be on the forefront of our quickly evolving industry.”

“I have been extremely fortunate in my career to be in a business that experienced exponential growth,” added Pecora. “With that growth came the opportunity to gain experience from the ground up, allowing me to have a deep understanding of benchmarks for success. I have deep respect for Peter and Rich and I am excited to join them, and the entire Vertical team, to further expand the exceptional company they have created.”

Notable current and upcoming releases from the global independent distributor Vertical, founded in 2012, include John Patton Ford’s Independent Spirit Award winner Emily the Criminal starring Aubrey Plaza; the Sundance opener The Pod Generation starring Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor; Susie Searches starring Kiersey Clemons, Alex Wolff and Jim Gaffigan; the Kate Beckinsale and Brian Cox-led thriller Prisoner’s Daughter from director Catherine Hardwicke; To Catch a Killer starring Shailene Woodley and Ben Mendelsohn; Maybe I Do starring Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere, William H. Macy, Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey; the SXSW thriller Gone in the Night starring Winona Ryder and John Gallagher Jr.; Krystin Ver Linden’s Alice starring Keke Palmer, Common, Gaius Charles and Jonny Lee Miller; John Michael McDonagh’s The Forgiven starring Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain and Matt Smith; and Rodrigo García’s Four Good Days starring Glenn Close and Mila Kunis.