Dr. Seuss Enterprises (seussville.com) announced that Susan Brandt, an entertainment industry veteran who has been leading the company for more than two decades, has been promoted to President & CEO. Previously President of the company, Brandt will continue to lead the charge around the beloved entertainment property and oversee the worldwide operations.
During her tenure, Brandt has put a focus on finding new and innovative ways to connect with fans, while maintaining the integrity of the beloved Dr. Seuss stories and characters. Under her stewardship, 2021 was the highest revenue year in the company’s history. “I am a lifelong fan of Dr. Seuss and it’s been a privilege to be part of this company, collaborate with great partners, and wonderful employees to expand the Dr. Seuss universe in ways that continue to delight,” said Brandt. “I’m looking forward to continuing the wonderful work of guiding, innovating around, and protecting this widely beloved property.”
Brandt’s expertise runs across entertainment media, publishing, digital, retail, and consumer goods businesses as she manages Dr. Seuss’s billion-dollar global franchises. Some of her most recent deals for the portfolio include a three-part movie deal with Warner Animation Group, the launch of the first ever NFT experience for Dr. Seuss with Dapper Labs, and conceiving the idea for the highly successful traveling exhibition, the Dr. Seuss Experience, with Kilburn Live. Brandt has also worked closely with Netflix on the hit series Green Eggs and Ham and with PBS on the award-winning show, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot about That! She has further shepherded the brand info stage productions, theme parks, games, licensed products and more.
Prior to joining Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Brandt was Vice President of home entertainment at 20th Century Fox Film Corporation where, working with the President, she launched the $500M international video division and then ran the $320M Asia Pacific region while working and living in Hong Kong. Brandt graduated with a BA degree from the University of Notre Dame and holds a Master’s of Management degree from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Animated Women UK (animatedwomenuk.com) announced that Dara McGarry as its new Animation Chair. As Co-Chair of the organization supporting women in the U.K.’s VFX and animation industries, McGarry will set the agenda for AWUK alongside Co-Chair for VFX Louise Hussey. She replaces Beth Parker, who held the chair from 2017 and has relocated to Finland as Managing Director of Gigglebug Ent.
McGarry started her career at Disney Feature Animation in 1997, and over the course of 13 years worked in a variety of departments including Production, Technology and Effects on films such as Dinosaur, Chicken Little, Tangled and Frozen. She moved to London in 2010, working as an Artist Manager for DNEG VFX and later in the Feature Animation department, helping to grow and shape the team from its nascent days of 12 people to a global team of 700. She now serves as the Operations Manager for DNEG Animation.
“I was delighted to be asked to join the board representing animation,” said McGarry. “There are more jobs in our industry than ever before and I want to help artists find the work they are so passionate about whilst guiding the industry to be more diverse and inclusive. Now more than ever, there is a place for everyone at the table, and I want to make sure everyone gets a seat.”
Outpost VFX (outpost-vfx.com) has bolstered its U.K. team with the appointment of Kate Warburton as Executive Producer ahead of the opening of its London facility, set to open in the first half of 2022. Warburton will work alongside U.K. Head of Studio, Rachel Matchett to engage with Outpost’s client network in the city and globally. Best known for her work on major film and episodic productions including Aladdin (Disney), Paddington 2 (Warner Bros.) and The Crown (Netflix), Warburton most recently marshalled visual effects for Channel 4’s critically-acclaimed miniseries It’s a Sin, as executive producer.
The London studio, alongside Outpost’s recent expansion into India, will increase the company’s global artist capacity to over 700 within the next year. The company also operates studios in Montreal and Los Angeles, with recent VFX projects including The Wheel of Time, Foundation and Star Trek: Discovery. U.K. teams are currently working on The Offer and The Man Who Fell to Earth.
Zinkia (zinkia.com), the Spanish entertainment brand production and management company behind the popular children’s series Pocoyo, has appointed Eduardo Garagorri new Head of Revenues and Business Development at Zinkia Entertainment. Garagorri will lead the company’s strategic plan, as well as the definition of its commercial and positioning approach while seeking new opportunities to grow the division responsible for licensing, distribution and commercialization for its brands, as part of Zinkia’s national and international expansion, following the recent acquisition of Canarian animation studio Koyi Talent.
Garagorri brings extensive experience in the children’s entertainment industry to the new post, accumulated throughout more than 11 years heading the Product, Marketing and Sales strategy at Spanish toymaker, Famosa. He has also worked in consultancy at Boston Consulting Group and in technology at Seven Eighths. Zinkia’s new Head of Business Development obtained a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the School of Chemical Sciences of Madrid’s Complutense University, as well as an MBA from Instituto de Empresa business school.
Leading toy and game company PlayMonster (playmonster.com) enters 2022 with a significant capital investment from global private markets firms Adams Street Partners and H.I.G Capital, and promotes tenured industry leader and former PlayMonster President Tim Kilpin to the role of CEO. Kilpin will focus on expanding and accelerating PlayMonster’s strong retail relationships, product innovation, brand development, licensing and international expansion. The company will soon bring Hasbro’s Playskool brands to a new generation of parents, on the heels of several major brand launches in 2021 ‒ including Koosh, Spirograph Animator and THINGS…Schitt’s Creek Edition and the acquisition of award-winning crafting company, Ann Williams Group.
Before joining PlayMonster, Kilpin served as President & CEO of Activision Blizzard’s Consumer Products business, and President & Chief Commercial Officer for Mattel, Inc. In addition to various senior roles at both Mattel and Disney, Kilpin has served on the Boards of Build-A-Bear Workshop, the Make-A-Wish International Foundation, and the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation; he is also a Board and Executive Committee member of the Toy Association.
Global motion-capture leader Vicon (vicon.com) has appointed Howard Abrahall as its new Senior Product Manager for VR/LBE (location-based entertainment). In his new role, Abrahall will lead the strategy and development of Vicon’s VR product portfolio – including its ground-breaking VR hardware, Origin, and the Evoke software platform. Vicon has been at the forefront of LBVR experiences, enabling the world’s largest full-body VR experience at Europa-Park in Germany. VR continues to be a strategic growth sector for Vicon, and Abrahall’s appointment will enable the business to capitalize on opportunities across the LBE, VR training and VR education markets.
Abrahall joins Vicon with more than 12 years of specialist expertise in VR technologies, games development, motion capture and creative multimedia. He previously worked as the Product Manager at eyeora VR, where he was responsible for overseeing and implementing the strategy for its VR content platform and leading their production department. He also served as the Technical Project Manager for Digital Domain on several multi-platform VR products and as the Multimedia Lab Manager at the Erasmushogeschool in Brussels, where he worked extensively with various kinds of motion capture and the integration of it with some of the earliest versions of VR head-mounted displays.
Premiere kids & family entertainment company Pocket.watch (pocket.watch), which creates global franchises from Generation Alpha’s favorite YouTube stars and characters, has appointed Manuel Torres Port as Global Head of Consumer Products, effective immediately. Torres Port will oversee all CP licensing for pocket.watch brands, focused on the growth of each franchise and the launch of new ones. and help pocket.watch navigate new markets around the world.
Torres Port brings with him almost three decades of growth experience at leading companies like Mattel, Nickelodeon, NBC Universal and Zag Entertainment. Under his leadership, his deals have contributed to over $1B US in net royalties throughout his career. At Zag, he was instrumental in the consolidation of key strategic commercial global deals around their top IP including the worldwide phenomenon, Miraculous Ladybug. He oversaw NBCUniversal’s global CP portfolio of franchises including Illumination (Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, Sing), DreamWorks Animation (Trolls, Spirit), Curious George and many others, and was instrumental in the consolidation of DreamWorks Animation Consumer Products into NBC. He served in various global roles at Nickelodeon both in New York and Miami, and was key in the relaunch of the worldwide franchise, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He began his career in the early ’90s at Mattel Mexico before relocating to the U.S.
