Artists Equity, the studio founded by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, announced today that it has elevated Dillon West to the role of chief operating officer and named Andrew Gumpert to the new role of president, business affairs & strategy. Former Artists Equity COO Michael Joe, who started the studio alongside Affleck and Damon, will transition to a strategic advisory role and will remain on the board of directors.
West previously served as Artist Equity’s chief strategy officer and will continue to serve on the company’s board of directors. Before artists Equity, West focused on media and entertainment investments at RedBird Capital Partners, whose CEO Gerald Cardinale co-founded Artists Equity with Damon and Affleck.
With more than three decades of industry experience, Gumpert most recently served as COO at Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Studios, overseeing business affairs, strategic planning, home entertainment distribution, and television licensing. Gumpert also previously served as Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group’s president of worldwide business affairs and operations. Gumpert began his career as a litigator at Hill, Wynne, Troop, and Meisinger in Los Angeles.
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Artists Equity recently premiered director Bill Condon’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman” starring Jennifer Lopez and Diego Luna at the Sundance Film Festival, in addition to “Unstoppable” for Amazon MGM earlier this month, also starring Lopez. Artist Equity’s slate of upcoming projects includes “The Accountant 2” for Amazon MGM, which will see the return of director Gavin O’Connor and writer Bill Dubuque and stars Affleck, Jon Bernthal, and J.K. Simmons.
Artist Equity also has ongoing advertising partnerships with multiple brands including Dunkin’ Donuts, with whom Artist Equity created tow Super Bowl commercials and a spot for the Grammys. The Dunkin’ campaign was produced and directed by Affleck.