Former Alliance Atlantis exec Peter Sussman has joined Our House Media’s board of directors as the non-executive chairperson, the company announced Wednesday.

As chair of the board, Sussman will help steer the strategic growth of the company as it progresses from a small- to medium-sized business, said Our House Media CEO Simon Lloyd. Sussman is the first external appointment, with Lloyd and Our House Media president Joe Houlihan also sitting on the board.

“Peter is really going to help guide this through the next stage of our growth and making strategic decisions about how we finance our company and how we grow and how we invest our money,” Lloyd told Playback Daily, adding that the company plans to open a permanent U.S. office in the coming months.

Our House Media previously worked with Sussman through his Aver Media L.P. company, a lender/financier for the film and television industry that was sold to the Bank of Montreal in 2013. Having Sussman on the board means the company can make its relationship with him official while allowing Sussman to continue his other commitments, such as working with BMO as a consultant on Aver Media, said Lloyd. He also noted Sussman’s unique background in broadcasting, financing and production means he can provide insight across a range of topics.

“I think that is what makes him such a good fit for us. He has the entrepreneurial spirit but he’s got a creative eye, so he really understands our business,” Lloyd said.

For Sussman, he said he has been impressed with what Our House Media has done thus far and will use his experiences at Alliance and Aver to help guide the company as it expands. “They do a lot of things that I like. From a standing start to the volume of activity they now have is very impressive. The fact that their relationships are very international as well as domestic is interesting, and to me, the only way to be in the business,” Sussman said.

As a producer, Sussman was best known for assembling Alliance Atlantis’ CSI television franchise, and was nominated for three Golden Globes and four Emmy Awards. He was also a co-controlling shareholder of Alliance Atlantis and CEO of the company’s entertainment group before he co-founded Aver Media in 2006.

Since it launched in 2014, Our House Media has had 10 series and pilots greenlit into production, including Blue Ant Media’s Paranormal Survivor, Backroad Bounty and W Network’s Million Dollar View.

– Image courtesy of Shutterstock