After more than nine successful years at ARRI — three of which were spent as an Executive Board member — Markus Zeiler has decided to exit the company and tackle a new professional challenge as a member of the Management team for one of ARRI’s long-term customers starting on April 1.
ARRI’s press release didn’t mention Zeiler’s new job, but Below the Line hears he’s heading to The MBS Group (formerly Manhattan Beach Studios), which is well-known within the virtual production industry.
“On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to thank Markus Zeiler for his outstanding efforts and accomplishments for the ARRI Group. We deeply regret this decision, but wish him all the best personally and professionally. We look forward to working with Markus Zeiler on joint projects in the future,” Prof. Dr. Hans-Joerg Bullinger, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at ARRI, said in a statement.
Zeiler came to ARRI as General Manager Business Unit Lighting in 2013. In this position, his responsibilities included the successful introduction of the LED soft light platform SkyPanel, for which ARRI was awarded an Engineering Emmy this past year. In early 2019, Zeiler was called to the Executive Board at ARRI, and he was most recently in charge of the business units Camera Systems, Lighting, and Rental, along with the marketing and sales departments. Together with Executive Board member Dr. Michael Neuhaeuser, Zeiler helped set an important course for the future of ARRI and was able to lead the film technology company while achieving record sales figures in 2021 during the pandemic.
Dr. Matthias Erb, Chairman of the Executive Board at ARRI, will take over Zeiler’s responsibilities temporarily, thereby ensuring a smooth transition over the next several weeks.
Headquartered in Germany, ARRI employs around 1,200 staff worldwide, with the ARRI Group consisting of the business units Camera Systems, Lighting, and Rental, all of which are dedicated to connecting creativity and future technologies for moving images. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has recognized ARRI’s engineers and their contributions to the industry with 19 Scientific and Technical Awards. For more information, click here.