Wellington-based visual effects studio CEO Wētā FX, formerly known as Wētā Digital, has left the company.
The Prime Minister joined Wētā Digital in 2020, and was based in Los Angeles for most of his tenure.
“He is changing the responsibilities of the executive team,” Wētā FX said in a statement.
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“It is clear that the company will benefit from a New Zealand-based leadership to manage nearly 2,000 members. Accordingly, the LA-based Prime Minister is not a global chief executive. Mr. Akaraju continues to be a shareholder and director of Wēta FX.” Says the statement.
A spokesman for Wētā FX said the source had nothing to do with the Vita Digital 2020 Cultural Review, which was commissioned by 1 News.
The Maria de QC review found that issues related to bullying, sexual harassment, administrative processes and complaints are dealt with on Wētā Digital.
She made 17 recommendations, including improving the company’s workplace culture “from top to bottom” and restructuring its executive team, manpower department, and larger organization.
In November last year, Weta sold its digital equipment, technology and engineering skills to Unity Technology. This meant that 275 engineering staff became Unity staff but had a contract with the company, changing its name from Weta Digital to Wēta FX.
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According to Sir Peter Jackson, filmmaker and owner of Weta Fax, Prim was instrumental in forming the Watan partnership, for which we are very grateful. Unity is a world leader in technology delivery and we look forward to continuing to work with them. Our shared vision is to encourage artists around the world to take their work to the next level.
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