Walden Media, a division of Anschutz Film Group (AFG) and producer of such hit films as “The Chronicles of Narnia” series, Bridge to Terabithia, Charlotte’s Web and the "Journey to the Center of the Earth” series, has completed its restructuring and shifted key leadership.

Frank Smith, Walden’s longtime general counsel and head of business affairs, will step into the role of chief operating officer and oversee all aspects of Walden’s operations as the company expands its production and financing activities beyond feature film and into television and animation.

The company’s expansionary initiatives are supported by a replenishable media fund, backed by AFG, which allows Walden Media to not only finance the production of feature films, television series and animated content, but also provide print & advertising funding and gap financing for select projects.

“The restructuring reflects how the industry is working today,” said Smith. “Now Walden can better leverage its capital in a more efficient manner, which means we can invest and collaborate on more films, and explore animation and television projects.”

Working alongside Smith and Walden Media President and co-founder Micheal Flaherty will be Chip Flaherty, who heads Walden Media’s publishing division; Ryan Jones, the longtime Walden finance executive who has been appointed CFO of Walden Media; and Naia Cucukov, former creative executive at Virgin Produced, who has been hired as vice president of development and production for Walden.

AFG’s current CEO, David Weil, will leave the company at the end of the year to pursue new opportunities.

Under the new leadership, Walden Media will focus primarily on projects submitted and produced by third parties and co-finance film projects originating with studio partners or independent production companies, such as the company’s two latest films, The Giver—a feature co-production with The Weinstein Company, starring Meryl Streep, Taylor Swift, Jeff Bridges, Alexander Skarsgård and Katie Holmes, that will hit theaters August 2014; and Everest – the Universal feature starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke and John Hawkes.

“Our initial meetings with studios, production companies and agencies have been great, validating our approach and showing the great number of opportunities that are open to us,” Smith added.

There are no set restrictions on how or where capital from the company’s fund may be allocated, which allows for maximum flexibility in sourcing projects and material across all mediums and collaborating with various partners to build a diverse slate of inspiring stories for the whole family. Walden maintains a first look deal with 20^th Century Fox for projects the company develops exclusively in-house but is open to partner with all distributors on any projects the company co-finances and co-produces with outside partners.

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