Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment Installs New CEO and Board Following Bankruptcy

After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Saturday, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment — the parent company of RedBox — is enlisting Bart M. Schwartz as its new CEO.

Schwartz will replace Bill Rouhana, the former head of the company. He will also be one of three new members added to the board, alongside Steven Goldsmith and Josh Mandel.

Prior to taking over the role, Schwartz has not held any significant experience in media or entertainment. He is the founder and chairman of Guidepost Solutions, which specializes in domestic and international investigations, compliance solutions, monitoring as well as security and technology consulting. The organization also offers faith-based solutions for its clients and has worked with domestic and global religious institutions. Schwartz has also served as chairman of the Compliance Committee, a member of the Audit Committee of the board of HMS Holdings Corp and served as the first chairman on the board of the public biopharma company, Kadmon.

Additionally, Schwartz was appointed as the receiver of a Madoff feeder fund that was valued at $1.8  billion before the fraud was discovered. Through his management of the fund, he eventually recovered $800 million for the victims and distributed $2 billion.

As for Goldsmith, over the course of his nearly 30-year career, he has worked for brands such as Amazon, Victoria’s Secret, Brookstone and The Shopping
Channel. Goldsmith led Victoria’s Secret’s $3 billion direct-to-consumer business and helped drive margins to an all-time high and led Brookstone’s expansions into the airport and home shopping spaces.

Finally, Mandel comes from the world of politics. He completed two terms as Treasurer of the state of Ohio and oversaw the state’s $22 billion investment portfolio as well as its $232 billion pension custody portfolio. Mandel was elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014, During his time in the position, he helped boost Ohio’s finances from 43rd in the nation to 7th. He also served two terms on the Ohio House of Representatives

This past year has been a difficult one for the media and entertainment company. In April, Chicken Soup for the Soul received a delisting notice from Nasdaq, informing them that they had 180 days to return to compliance. After announcing a $636.6 million loss in 2023, the company then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week.