Top Draw Animation (TDA), the award-winning division of Grom Social Enterprises Inc. specializing in providing 2D animation production services to the global industry, today announced that the former VP of Technicolor’s Animation Games & Production (India), Cyrus Mistry, has been named the studio’s Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. Mistry’s appointment was announced by Grom’s CEO, Darren Marks.
“Cyrus’ deep roots in animation production and strong executive leadership capabilities position him for great success in this role,” says Marks. “The TDA family enthusiastically anticipates the benefits his motivational expertise will bring to the organization.”
In his new role, Mistry has relocated from India to the company’s state-of-the-art studio in Manila, Philippines, which was recently featured on CNN in a special about the growing global reliance on the Philippines for goods and services, including premium animation production.
Mistry joined TDA last year as a consultant and, as COO, will now oversee the studio’s operations, including a team of 300-plus artists. The newly appointed exec will draw on his professional experience to usher the 25-year-old studio through its next chapter delivering animation for its client roster, which has included Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, Disney and Warner Bros., among others.
Mistry, who most recently served as CEO of Rocksalt Interactive, began his career as a filmmaker, crafting both industrial/corporate content as well as TV commercials. His passion for both the creative and business sides of the animation process led him to transition into animation production over 20 years ago. Prior to Rocksalt, he served as Vice President of Production at Technicolor Animation & Games, India, where he oversaw its significant growth and led the studio to seven Emmy Award wins for their animation work.
Acquired by Grom Social Enterprises in 2016, Top Draw Animation handles production and delivery for a diverse pipeline of animated series, movies, specials and short-form projects. The studio’s many credits include Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Being Ian, Martha Speaks, George of the Jungle, Johnny Test, Static Shock, My Little Pony, The Guava Juice Show, The Tom and Jerry Show and The Loud House, to name a few.
Last month, Grom also entered into a non-binding letter of intent to acquire Texas-based Arctic7, and tap into the $180 billion gaming market — $20B of which is gaming for kids — and explore synergy opportunities across Grom’s subsidiaries. Arctic7 provides a robust suite of full game and co-development services alongside its own intellectual property development within gaming, and virtual production services for the movie and TV industry. Grom aims to complement its existing entertainment offerings of safe social media for kids and its growing catalog of original intellectual property with a move into gaming and its attendant revenue growth opportunities.
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