Australia's Servo production services names Sam Pantos as CEO

Australia's Servo Production Services has named Sam Pantos as CEO.

Pantos was most recently director of operations for Neom Media Industries, responsible for expanding Saudi Arabia’s screen capacity and oversaw the delivery of the region’s first purpose-built studio facility. Previously, he held senior executive roles at Sony Pictures Television’s Playmaker Media and Endemol Australia, having begun his career at Fox Studios Australia (now Disney Studios Australia) 25 years ago.

Servo began operations in Australia in January 2023 and has since worked with international studios including Amazon MGM Studios, Apple Original Films, Miramax and Paramount Pictures.

Servo provided production services for Ron Howard’s Eden, set to release in the US on August 22, which filmed in 2023 at Village Roadshow Studios and several locations in Queensland, Australia.

The production generated approximately AUD 26.5m to the Queensland economy and supported more than 300 local jobs. Servo’s end-to-end production services involved production planning, budgeting, crew hire, accounting, incentive management and project problem solving throughout the project’s lifecycle in Australia.

The company also provided services for Liam Neeson’s action thriller Ice Road: Vengeance, shot in Walhalla in Victoria, Australia, and Shane Black’s big-budget crime film Play Dirty for Amazon MGM Studios, co-starring Mark Wahlberg and LaKeith Stanfield.

Pantos joins Mel Chryssochoides, William Creamer, Julie Stewart and Michael Pontin on the executive team. Servo has offices in Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast, and will open an office in Western Australia when Perth Studios begins operations.