Universal Studio Group has found its new business affairs chief – three months after the departure of Masami Yamamoto.
Former eOne exec Blossom Lefcourt as Global Head of Business Affairs. She was previously EVP, Global Business & Legal Affairs, Television and left in January.
Lefcourt oversaw all overall and first-look deals, including Mark Gordon, Alexi Hawley, Beau Willimon and worked on deals for shows including Yellowjackets and A Gentleman in Moscow.
Before that, she was EVP and Deputy General Counsel, Business and Legal Affairs at ViacomCBS.
Deadline revealed that Yamamoto, who was President, Business Operations at USG, in November. She left at the end of the year.
Lefcourt will work across NBCU’s four television studios: Universal Television, UCP, Universal Television Alternative Studio and Universal International Studios.
Jeremy Adell has been acting as interim lead and will now report to Blossom.
Chairman Pearlena Igbokwe said in an internal memo, which you can read below, that Lefcourt had the “technical expertise, deep industry knowledge and collaborative approach” to head its global team.
Dear USG Team,
I’m very pleased to announce that Blossom Lefcourt, will be joining our team as our new Global Head of Business Affairs. Blossom has the technical expertise, deep industry knowledge and collaborative approach needed to head our global team and support all of USG’s diverse business needs across our four studios. In addition to her resume, Blossom’s energy, passion for the role and commitment to reinforcing a positive culture proved that she was the right fit for our USG family, and I am confident she will be an excellent addition to our remarkable Business Affairs team.
Blossom was most recently EVP, Global Business & Legal Affairs, Television for eOne. During her tenure, she was widely recognized as a motivating, supportive, and respected leader who worked across multiple platforms and projects ranging from Yellowjackets to A Gentleman in Moscow. She oversaw all overall and first-look deals, including Mark Gordon, Alexi Hawley, Beau Willimon and more.
Prior to that, Blossom was EVP and Deputy General Counsel, Business and Legal Affairs at ViacomCBS. She was responsible for overseeing all development and production business and legal affairs for the Entertainment and Youth Brands channels and studios, including Comedy Central, MTV, Paramount Network and Smithsonian Channel. In addition, she structured and negotiated major overall deals, including Trevor Noah, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, Darren Star and Taylor Sheridan. Blossom spent the first part of her career at Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video, leading Business and Legal Affairs.
Blossom is a graduate of Cardozo School of Law and Bard College. She volunteers at the Cardozo Filmmakers Legal Clinic and Center for Visual Advocacy and is also on the DEI Oversight Committee at La Cañada Unified School District.
I’d like to thank Jeremy Adell for filling in as Interim Head during this search. It goes without saying that Jeremy is a tremendous asset to USG and will continue to drive our business as part of Blossom’s team.
As we constantly strive to deliver ambitious and entertaining projects from the industry’s most visionary storytellers, it is our innovation, collaboration, and creativity that truly propel our success. Thank you all for being part of our extraordinary team.
Pearlena Igbokwe