Denise Parkinson Joins Variety in Senior International Business Post

Denise Parkinson has been appointed to a senior international business position at Variety, where she will lead development and marketing initiatives for global markets. Based in the company's London office, she will be responsible for guiding Variety's expanding For Your Consideration (FYC) awards campaigns in the U.K. and other international regions. Parkinson brings a wealth of experience from a long career spanning marketing and sales across the entertainment and media sectors.

In her new role, Parkinson will report directly to Dea Lawrence, Variety’s chief operating and marketing officer. Lawrence emphasized Parkinson's unique qualifications, stating, "Denise Parkinson is uniquely qualified to provide Variety with a greater advantage in the international territories, particularly in connection with our FYC Awards business, thanks to her deep industry relationships combined with her sales and marketing acumen." Lawrence added that the overseas market is a formidable component of the publication's business strategy and expressed excitement about Parkinson bringing her "dynamic energy and creativity" to the global team.

Parkinson joins Variety from Allied Global Marketing, where she held the position of Vice President of business development and client solutions. In that capacity, she collaborated with major film studios, leading streaming services, and international festivals. Her extensive career also includes roles with prominent brands such as Artificial Eye/Curzon, Bauer Media, Disney/ABC/ESPN, Yahoo, The Telegraph, and One Football. Furthermore, she has curated conference programming for major industry events like Mipcom and MipTV, as well as festivals in Cannes, Rome, and Monte Carlo. Her career began in marketing at Palace Pictures, a noted independent production and distribution company known for releasing influential films in the UK during the 1980s and 90s.

Expressing her enthusiasm for the new position, Parkinson said, "It is an honor and a privilege to join the rich legacy and world-class journalism of team Variety. It is the opportunity of a lifetime to drive Variety’s continued global expansion and metamorphosis." She also shared a personal connection to the brand, noting that Variety has always been her most trusted source for entertainment news, a publication she learns from and reads daily. This move signals a strategic push by Variety to deepen its influence during the increasingly competitive international awards season, where FYC campaigns have become multimillion-dollar endeavors for studios and streamers alike.

Beyond her corporate roles, Parkinson is actively involved in the industry community. She is a long-standing member of BAFTA and serves as a Vice Patron of the Film and TV Charity. Her board commitments include a non-executive directorship at London’s historic Regent Street Cinema—one of Britain's oldest picture palaces—and she acts as a patron and non-executive for the TVE Global Sustainability Awards in Film, highlighting a commitment to ethical practices within the industry.