EXCLUSIVE: Peter Kang, most recently co-president of production at Lionsgate, has been hired as EVP Production at Sony’s Columbia Pictures. The veteran exec starts in his new post at the Sanford Panitch-run studio label March 18.

Kang joined Lionsgate in 2016 and had been co-president of production with Bobby Cohen, who exited last fall. Kang remained and has overseen a slate that recently included Paul Feig’s A Simple Favor. Before Lionsgate he spent the previous three years as EVP Production at Paramount, working among other projects on Top Gun: Maverick.

Prior to that, he spent 17 years at 20th Century Fox, where he oversaw the relaunch of the Planet of the Apes franchise, brought in such book-based properties as Gone Girl and The Maze Runner, and developed and packaged The Blind Side.

At Columbia, Kang will join fellow EVPs Ange Giannetti, Palak Patel and Jonathan Kadin and take on an full upcoming slate that includes Men In Black: International, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood, Zombieland 2: Double Tap, Charlie’s Angels, the Jumanji sequel and Little Women among other pics.