Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios (PIMS) has appointed Rezal A. Rahman as CEO, replacing Michael Lake who has moved to head Rhizophora Ventures.

Rahman has worked closely with Lake for the past three years during the construction and opening of studios, which are currently housing production of the Marco Polo television, produced by series Netflix and The Weinstein Company. His new post is effective from July 1, 2014.

Lake, who has been CEO of PIMS since December 2010, has taken up the post of group managing director of Rhizophora Ventures, which is wholly owned by Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad to manage its creative content investment.

Khazanah also financed the Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios through a licensing and management deal with the UK’s Pinewood Shepperton.

Lake was instrumental in directing the construction and launch phase of the studios, which officially opened their doors on June 24. In his new post he will help build the creative content industry in Malaysia. He remains on the board of the studios.

Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, chairman of Iskandar Malaysia Studios, said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Michael for his contribution over the past three and a half years resulting in the successful launch of Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios. We now look forward to Rezal moving the company forward through the next phases of its growth.”

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