The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) announced that it has named Mark Fisher to be the President and Chief Executive Officer of the trade association.

For more information visit: www.entmerch.org

Unedited press release follows:

Mark Fisher Named President & CEO of EMA

ENCINO, CA (March 5, 2013) … The Board of Directors of the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) has unanimously selected Mark Fisher to be the President and Chief Executive Officer of the trade association, effective immediately. Fisher had been Interim President of EMA since the retirement of Bo Andersen in November of last year.

“The members of the EMA’s Board of Directors have been impressed with Mark’s dedication and passion throughout his tenure at EMA, and his leadership of the organization as Interim President the past five months,” noted Bob Geistman, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Ingram Entertainment and Chairman of the Board of EMA. “Mark demonstrated he was the best person for the job by growing the membership, developing a new strategic direction for the Association, and fostering a fresh sense of energy among the staff.”

“Having been part of the home video industry since shortly after its birth and having participated in the many transitions and transformations that the industry has experienced, I am honored to have been chosen to lead the home entertainment industry’s trade association,” Fisher said. “I look forward to continuing to work with the members and staff of EMA to ensure that it remains the vehicle for advancing the common interests of video and video game retailers in both the physical and digital ecosystems.”

Fisher has nearly 30 years of retailing experience at store-, field-, and corporate-levels, and 13 years on the executive staff of EMA.

Fisher joined the trade association (then known as the Video Software Dealers Association) as Vice President of Membership in 1999. He was named Executive Vice President in 2009. At EMA, Fisher was responsible for expanding the scope of EMA’s membership from primarily rental stores to a broad representation of the sellers and renters of home video and video games in all formats and delivery methods and establishing EMA as a leader on supply chain issues for both physical and digital versions of home entertainment products, as well as providing strategic planning and direction for the association.

Prior to EMA, Fisher served as Senior Vice-President/Retail Operations for West Coast Entertainment, where he was responsible for in-store and field management as well as warehousing and distribution for the 240-store chain.

Fisher started his career in 1975 as a store manager for a large supermarket chain. Starting in 1982, he held responsibility for the field operations of all general merchandise and health and beauty care departments in Stop & Shop Supermarket Company’s Connecticut Division. In 1985, Fisher developed the video rental division of Stop & Shop, which, under his direction, grew to 60 stores at its peak. Fisher held responsibility for store operations, purchasing, marketing, and profitability for more than 10 years.

Fisher studied Business Administration at the State University of New York/Albany and at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He grew up in Troy, New York and spent most of his adult years in the Boston area prior to moving to Studio City, CA in 1999, where he now resides with his wife Julie Harris Fisher and their Chihuahua terrier, Louie.

The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) is the not-for-profit international trade association dedicated to advancing the interests of the $35 billion home entertainment industry. EMA-member companies operate approximately 35,000 retail outlets in the U.S. and 45,000 around the world that sell and/or rent DVDs, computer and console video games, and digitally distributed versions of these products. Membership comprises the full spectrum of retailers (from single-store specialists to multi-line mass merchants, and both brick and mortar and online stores), distributors, the home video divisions of major and independent motion picture studios, video game publishers, and other related businesses that constitute and support the home entertainment industry. EMA was established in April 2006 through the merger of the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) and the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA).