Lionsgate Names Kathleen Grace First Chief AI Officer
February 5, 2026
Lionsgate Feb. 5 has named Kathleen Grace to become its first Chief AI Officer.
Grace, a technology executive who previously served as chief strategy officer at AI company Vermillio, the first AI platform to license and protect IP and likenesses, will lead the studio’s AI strategy and execution. She reports to CEO Jon Feltheimer and will be part of the company’s senior management.
Grace will work with Vice Chairman Michael Burns and other senior leaders to provide tools to help serve filmmakers, create opportunities for new efficiencies in production, marketing, distribution and administrative operations, and spearhead initiatives to protect the IP of the studio and its partners.
“Kathleen understands the AI ecosystem from the perspective of creators and IP holders alike, and she is the right person to lead our team forward in this exciting, complex and nuanced environment,” Feltheimer said in a statement.
At Vermillio, Grace was responsible for ensuring that content owners and talent were able to track, authenticate, and be compensated for the use of their work in AI models.
She previously headed New Form, a digital studio backed by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Discovery Communications, where she developed more than 40 pilots and sold nearly 25 series to networks and platforms including TBS, go90, Freeform, Quibi and Refinery29.
She also spearheaded YouTube’s global Spaces initiative, establishing creator studios in Los Angeles, New York, London and Tokyo, and she has earned creator credits on projects including “The Burg,” Vuguru’s “The All for Notes,” and Facebook Watch’s “365 Days of Love” with Sofía Vergara.
Lionsgate announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with applied AI research company Runway in September 2024 to train a proprietary AI model to serve its filmmakers.
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