Mark Francis is exiting his role as Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) group lead for original production in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan after just less than two years.

Francis’ departure follows iQiyi’s senior director for international business, Dinesh Ratnam, who has also exited for an as yet-undisclosed role. [update: Warner Music has since announced Ratnam's appointment as managing director of Warner Music Malaysia.]

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, Lofai Lo has been upped to Viu COO and Felix Pineau joins Viu as the Canal+ era begins.

Francis, who joined WBD at the beginning of 2022, is shifting to Dubai but has not yet confirmed his next role. 

Ratnam had not disclosed his new role at press time, saying only that he was exiting the Chinese-owned streamer after three and a half years for a “new adventure”.

He added in his farewell note that the role was “a fresh challenge within the realm of entertainment, at the intersection of technology and culture”. 

Neither WBD nor iQiyi has announced the departures or replacements. 

In a LinkedIn post that followed a personal message to contacts, Ratnam gave iQiyi’s Malaysia team a special shoutout, saying iQiyi’s user base had grown by 15x, revenue by 40x, and that the platform had achieved operating profitability. 

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, ViuTV director and Makerville CEO, Lofai Lo, was quietly upped to chief operating officer at the beginning of September. The move follows Canal+ US$300-million investment in Viu in June. 

Canal+’s Felix Pineau joins Viu as head of synergy and value creation. Pineau has worked for the Canal+ group for about 10 years, most recently as project director, strategy and M&A/CFO, Canal+ Madagascar. 

In an internal note, Viu said the appointments strengthened the leadership team and “set the company up for the next phase of accelerated growth”. 

Updated at 8:20pm on Tuesday, 10 October, adding Dinesh Ratnam's new role as MD of Warner Music Malaysia