Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. said on Monday it hired Bedi Singh, formerly of Novartis Pharma AG, as its new chief financial officer. He replaces Brian Urban, whom the Los Angeles-based media company fired in January.

Singh has been chief finance and administration officer for Novartis, a Swiss pharmaceutical firm. Prior to that, Singh was executive vice president and finance chief of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a division of Sony Corporation of America.

Gemstar, which publishes TV Guide Magazine and produces TV schedule guides on a variety of platforms, was rocked by an accounting scandal that in 2003 led to a restatement of 1999 to 2002 results. A federal judge last month found former chief executive Henry Yuen liable for misleading investors by inflating sales by $248 million.

In February, former CFO Elsie M. Leung agreed to pay over $1.3 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations of securities fraud, falsifying Gemstar’s books and records, aiding and abetting Gemstar’s reporting and record-keeping violations and making false statements to auditors.

Urban’s termination wasn’t connected with the case, a company spokeswoman said at the time it was announced, but the company didn’t provide a reason for ending Urban’s employment five months before his contract was scheduled to expire.