After 20 years at Lucasfilm, where she started as the company's CFO, current President and COO Micheline Chau is retiring, Variety reports.
The exec is retiring after having spent much of her time turning "Star Wars" into a worldwide franchise through TV shows, videogames and other spinoffs as well as an ongoing line of popular licensed merchandise which has kept the film property fresh with new generations of fans.
Senior executives for each of the Lucasfilm divisions will now report directly to Lucasfilm co-chair Kathleen Kennedy, who joined the company in June. Chau had overseen the daily operation of Lucasfilm, which also owns visual effects arm Industrial Light & Magic; audio postproduction division Skywalker Sound; game studio LucasArts; Lucas Licensing; Lucasfilm Animation; Lucas Online; and Lucasfilm Singapore.
As Variety explains, senior Lucasfilm executives who were reporting to Chau will now report directly to recently-announced Lucasfilm co-chair Kathleen Kennedy.