STARZ has hired Jim Kapenstein as Chief Legal and Strategy Officer, the company announced on Monday. Kapenstein is scheduled to begin work next week and will assume responsibility for a broad portfolio of legal and strategic duties at the media company.
In his new post, Kapenstein will oversee business and legal affairs, a remit that covers distribution, content acquisition, production, litigation, employment matters, and legal and regulatory compliance. He will also be charged with leading strategic corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, while managing the company’s governance and obligations as a public company. Kapenstein will report directly to STARZ President and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch and will be based in STARZ’s Santa Monica office.
Hirsch said Kapenstein brings a track record of involvement in major media transactions and experience guiding organizations through periods of transformation, attributes Hirsch said will be valuable as STARZ enters its next phase of growth.
Kapenstein said he is honored to join STARZ during a growth period for the business. He noted that STARZ has established a profitable digital streaming operation and said he anticipates contributing to the company’s next stage of growth through disciplined expansion and by maintaining a strong legal and corporate governance framework.
Kapenstein arrives at STARZ after nearly 30 years with The Walt Disney Company, where he most recently served as Deputy General Counsel and led the corporate legal team. During his tenure at Disney, he managed workstreams spanning mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, antitrust matters, corporate finance, and other strategic transactions.
At Disney, Kapenstein played a lead role on a range of significant business deals named by the company, including the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, ESPN’s equity investment with the NFL, and transactions involving BAMTech, Hulu, Fubo, Lucasfilm, Marvel, and Pixar. His experience encompasses large-scale strategic negotiations as well as the corporate legal oversight that accompanies complex media transactions.
Before joining Disney, Kapenstein was a senior associate at Alston & Bird, where his practice concentrated on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and corporate governance. He began his legal career at Arent & Fox in Washington, D.C.
Contextual note: The announcement signals STARZ’s prioritization of experienced legal leadership to support its streaming business and strategic transactions, while centralizing corporate governance and public company responsibilities under the new role.