Prime Video is rejigging its teams in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
As part of a raft of changes, Hwei Loke is named Head of Prime Video Australia and New Zealand, with Hushidar Kharas exiting the post to take on a new role as Head of Global Prime Video Brand and Social Strategy, based out of the U.S.
Around the world, Mark Shopiro has become Head of Prime Video Canada, while Dan Slepak takes on a newly created role as Head of Marketplace for Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Loke, Shopiro and Slepak will also report to Magda Grace, who is Head of Prime Video for Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Loke, a former Disney and Paramount marketing exec, joined the Prime Video Australia team in 2020. Her new role will see her leading on all Australian and Amazon originals, exclusives, and third-party licensed content, along with customer growth and engagement, local marketing and portfolio management, live sports, and internal partnerships.
Kharas, who she is replacing was Prime Video Australia & New Zealand’s first employee.
Amazon’s Australian office is gearing up for the launch of a number of high-profile originals, including Deadloch Season 2, which went back into production last week, and a remake of The Office starring Felicity Ward that launches on October 18. The office is still locked in the debate over the future of Australian content, with the global streamers continuing to campaign against streaming quotas. The government missed a deadline to implement the changes in July and it’s not yet clear how the situation will shake out.
In Canada, Shopiro has been with Amazon since 2019, most recently overseeing the engagement, marketplace and sports business for Prime Video. Prior to that, he was an account exec for Amazon Ads and also worked in consumer-packaged goods at Unilever across both the U.S .and Canada.
Slepak has been with Amazon since 2022 and was most recently in content acquisitions for the Prime Video Channels and TVOD businesses at Prime Video International. His previous roles include VP of Digital Distribution at Sony Pictures, where he was responsible for the U.S. TVOD business.
The pair are joining a team at Prime Video Canada also including Brent Hayes, Head of International Originals, Canada for Amazon MGM Studios; Shaun Alperin, Head of Content for Prime Video Canada, and Owen McCorquodale, Head of Communications for Prime Video locally.
In Canada, Prime Video is lining up originals such as a Tom Green comedy special, true crime series including Cold Water: The Shelter Bay Mystery, survival series Hard North and docuseries 50k First Dates. Amazon has also used the country to shoot shows such as The Boys, Gen V and Reacher. It’s also opening a production base at Pinewood Toronto.
Earlier this year, Amazon made scything cuts across its U.S. and international content teams, as it restructured in a company-wide cost-cutting initiative.