Universal Pictures International’s EVP and Manager Director Niels Swinkels will now add President, International Distribution, Focus Features, to his current role as EVP & MD, Universal Pictures International.
Swinkels began as a Marketing Director at Universal in 2004. He was then appointed VP of Sales & Distribution for the EMEA region in 2006 before being promoted to SVP of the same region in 2009. He then spent four years as Managing Director of the UK and Ireland before being named EVP International Distribution in 2014. He was promoted into his current role in January 2021.
Swinkels started his film industry career at PolyGram Filmed Entertainment in The Netherlands, where he served in various roles before serving as the marketing manager at Universal Pictures Benelux. From 2000 -2004, he was managing director of Independent Films Netherlands. The exec is a native of The Netherlands.
Here’s the internal email from Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of Distribution for Universal Pictures International on Swinkels promotion:
Dear Team,
Since I joined Universal five years ago, Niels Swinkels has played a significant role in helping me build and reshape the Universal Pictures International (UPI) team to maximize the performance of our international slate. He has also extended his leadership to Focus Features, helping to strengthen the impact of their global slate as the world’s leading specialty studio. Today, I’m pleased to share that Niels has been promoted and will now add President, International Distribution, Focus Features, to his current role as EVP & MD, Universal Pictures International.
In this capacity, Niels will continue to work closely with Focus Features’ Chairman, Peter Kujawski, and the Focus senior leadership team to further their position in the marketplace. Over the past few years, Niels has played an essential role on all global releases, partnering with the Focus team to bring alignment to their international slate, amplifying the label’s brand across the international markets and providing guidance on films to greenlight, while also helping to maximize Helen Parker’s Content Group titles across the globe.
For UPI, Niels will continue to report to me on all matters related to delivering the strategic direction of UPI’s theatrical distribution and rollout of films across Universal Pictures, Focus Features and DreamWorks Animation.
On behalf of Kujo and myself, we are grateful to have a leader such as Niels, whose collaborative spirit, extensive knowledge of the international markets and deep industry relationships will continue to be invaluable in giving our collective film slate the best opportunities to succeed internationally.
Please join us in congratulating Niels on his well-deserved new role.
Best,
Veronika