Lionsgate Promotes Marisa Liston to President of Worldwide Marketing

Lionsgate has promoted Marisa Liston to president of worldwide marketing for the studio’s film group, chairman Joe Drake announced Monday.

Liston, who was a 17-year veteran of Sony, joined Lionsgate in 2019 as EVP for earned media and communications, and she’s been leading the marketing department since March.

In her new role, she’ll oversee marketing campaigns for all upcoming Lionsgate films, including projects like “The Protege,” “American Underdog,” “Moonfall,” “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” “Shotgun Wedding,” “John Wick 4” and more. She’ll also oversee the marketing for home entertainment and for day-and-date releases and catalogue titles.

“Marisa is one of the most exceptionally talented marketing and communication strategists I have worked with and the right person to lead our marketing team,” Drake said. “Her creative instincts will allow us to maximize each movie’s potential across all platforms and her leadership and entertainment experience has already earned her the wide respect of filmmakers, talent, executives, and colleagues across the industry. On a personal note, her candor and ability to understand issues across the entire company will be a tremendous asset not only as she leads the global marketing team but as we continue to make Lionsgate a world-class place to work.”  

Liston played a key role in Lionsgate’s banner year at the box office in 2019, when the studio had “John Wick 3,” “Knives Out,” “Angel Has Fallen,” “Rambo” and “Bombshell.” She more recently led the campaigns for “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” “Spiral” and “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.”

Prior to joining Lionsgate, Liston spent 17 years at Sony Pictures, including serving as executive vice president of domestic publicity and leading campaigns for “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” “Jumanji,” “Venom” and many more. Before Sony, she worked as a personal publicist at Baker-Winoker-Ryder and served briefly at 20th Century Fox.