Sony Pictures Entertainment hired Jay Levine, most recently CEO of Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat media company, as EVP, chief strategy officer and business operations.

Levine reports directly to SPE president and CEO Ravi Ahuja. In the role, Levine will be responsible for “driving strategic growth initiatives” while overseeing corporate development, investments and M&A as well as providing direct oversight of a portfolio of Sony Pictures Entertainment businesses and departments.

Levine joined Hartbeat as CEO in early 2024, where he oversaw all aspects of the private-equity backed multiplatform entertainment company’s activities, including the development, production, marketing, distribution, and other exploitation of its intellectual property and experiences. Under his leadership, Hartbeat produced the Emmy-nominated “Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady” for Netflix and “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” for Peacock. In addition, Levine renewed or restructured Hartbeat’s key deals with partners including Netflix, NBCUniversal, Sirius XM, P&G and Draft Kings.

Prior to joining Hartbeat, Levine spent over a decade at Warner Bros. and then WarnerMedia in a variety of senior leadership roles, most recently leading business operations and strategy for the WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group, which at the time included WB Pictures Group, HBO and HBO Max Programming, WB Television Group, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, WB Animation, TBS, TNT, DC, Consumer Products, Global Brands & Experiences and other traditional and digital content businesses.

Before joining Warner Bros. in 2009, Levine worked at Disney in its corporate strategy and business development group and at ESPN.

“I am thrilled to welcome Jay to Sony Pictures,” Ahuja said in a statement. “He brings not only deep expertise and a great reputation but also a collaborative spirit and strong relationships that will help drive our company’s growth. Jay’s insight and leadership will be invaluable as we continue to expand and innovate.”

Levine commented, “I look forward to collaborating closely with Ravi and the entire leadership team to advance the company’s opportunities for expansion and growth given the evolving media landscape.”