Category Archives: People

Flowhaven marks three months ‘of accelerated growth’ with new US office opening

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The licensing solution unit, Flowhaven, is marking three months of accelerated growth with the opening of its new office in Santa Monica, California, and the appointment of a string of key new positions within it.

The team is also celebrating an expanding client roster and customer support footprint.

The new office – located in the US entertainment capital – includes the new US director of sales and marketing, customer success, and operational staff, while an EMEA director of sales will operate out of London.

The news comes just three months after Flowhaven closed a $5.2 million (€4.75 million) seed round of financing. Global Founders Capital led the investment round with participation from existing investors including Icebreaker.vc. Following the round, Flowhaven entered a portfolio of investments that includes Facebook, Slack, Trivago, Canva, Eventbrite and more.

“Our goal has always been to build a great team and company culture to foster long-term growth,” says Kalle Törmä, CEO and co-founder, Flowhaven. “With our new office in L.A, we can be closer to our customers in both North and South America, and translate their needs to innovate our product and provide best-in-class service on a global level to drive their success.”

The company has grown to more than 30 team members across its permanent and satellite office locations, including headquarters in Helsinki, in addition to hubs in London, Tokyo, New York and more.

The company has now welcomed two new senior hires in Thomas McMillin, who joins as US director of sales, and Jeremy Robinson EMEA, as its director of sales. McMillin began his career as the director of sports licensing at The Walt Disney Company, while Robinson is a toy industry veteran whose previous posts include UK sales manager at Tomy, among others.

The company has also signed several new customers including licensors, agents and licensees such as Full-Color Black dba Brandalised whose portfolio includes Banksy among others; Lisle Licensing who oversees Masha and the Bear, Nitro Circus, Tetris and more; as well as Licensing Link who works on behalf of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Pantone, Van Gogh Museum, Molang, and others.

Flowhaven is set to drastically increase its footprint in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other key countries within the year.

WildBrain CPLG expands its German commercial sales department with double hire

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The entertainment, sport, and brand licensing agency, WildBrain CPLG is expanding its commercial sales department in Germany with two new hires in the form of Sarah Rosenstock and Lisa Gruczek.

Rosenstock (pictured right) has been brought in as the unit’s new commercial director, while Gruczek (pictured left) takes up the role of senior sale manager.

Rosenstock returns to WildBrain CPLG from the in-house licensing agency of Hubert Burda Media KG where she held the position of head of brand cooperations and led the brand licensing sales division. Prior to this, she held roles at ProSiebenSat.1’s SevenOne AdFactory, Burda Intermedia Publishing and also at WildBrain CPLG.

In her new role at WildBrain CPLG, Rosenstock will be responsible for driving the company’s activity and strategy in the German market across its portfolio of brands. She reports into Sibylle Gondolf, managing director at WildBrain CPLG Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Meanwhile, Gruczek joins WildBrain CPLG following a six-year tenure at Hubert Burda Media KG where she helped build the brand licensing division for an array of publishing, lifestyle, design and celebrity brands. Prior to this, Gruczek held roles at Alex Springer AG and Colosseum Music Entertainment.

At WildBrain CPLG she will report into Rosenstock and support the commercial sales team, with a focus on the apparel and accessories, toys and games, publishing, and beauty categories

Gondolf said: “With many years of experience in brand licensing between them, Sarah and Lisa are the ideal candidates to augment our Commercial Sales team in Germany. The pair bring a wealth of expertise as well as exciting new ideas, and I’m confident they will both play a crucial role in driving forward the success of our growing brand portfolio in the region.”

WildBrain CPLG expands its German commercial sales department with double hire

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The entertainment, sport, and brand licensing agency, WildBrain CPLG is expanding its commercial sales department in Germany with two new hires in the form of Sarah Rosenstock and Lisa Gruczek.

Rosenstock (pictured right) has been brought in as the unit’s new commercial director, while Gruczek (pictured left) takes up the role of senior sale manager.

Rosenstock returns to WildBrain CPLG from the in-house licensing agency of Hubert Burda Media KG where she held the position of head of brand cooperations and led the brand licensing sales division. Prior to this, she held roles at ProSiebenSat.1’s SevenOne AdFactory, Burda Intermedia Publishing and also at WildBrain CPLG.

In her new role at WildBrain CPLG, Rosenstock will be responsible for driving the company’s activity and strategy in the German market across its portfolio of brands. She reports into Sibylle Gondolf, managing director at WildBrain CPLG Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Meanwhile, Gruczek joins WildBrain CPLG following a six-year tenure at Hubert Burda Media KG where she helped build the brand licensing division for an array of publishing, lifestyle, design and celebrity brands. Prior to this, Gruczek held roles at Alex Springer AG and Colosseum Music Entertainment.

At WildBrain CPLG she will report into Rosenstock and support the commercial sales team, with a focus on the apparel and accessories, toys and games, publishing, and beauty categories

Gondolf said: “With many years of experience in brand licensing between them, Sarah and Lisa are the ideal candidates to augment our Commercial Sales team in Germany. The pair bring a wealth of expertise as well as exciting new ideas, and I’m confident they will both play a crucial role in driving forward the success of our growing brand portfolio in the region.”

WildBrain CPLG grows Greece office with Alice Marinou and Despina Chrisidou

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The entertainment, sport and brand licensing agency, WildBrain CPLG is growing its Greece office with the appointment of licensing industry experts Alice Marinou and Despina Chrisidou, joining as commercial director and senior retail and sales manager, respectively.

Marinou (pictured left) joins WildBrain CPLG following an 18-year tenure at The Walt Disney Company where she most recently held the position of senior licensing and retail manager for fashion for 11 years. In her new role at WildBrain CPLG, Marinou will be responsible for driving the company’s activity and strategy in the region.

She will report into Maria Gurrieri, managing director at WildBrain CPLG Italy, Greece, and Turkey.

Meanwhile, Chrisidou’s (pictured right) previous experience includes a tenure at Mattel Consumer Products as country manager for Greece where she was responsible for driving the company’s licensing efforts in the region. At WildBrain CPLG, Chrisidou will report into Alice Marinou and focus on hardlines, publishing, and food and beverage.

Maria Gurrieri said: “Alice and Despina bring an outstanding level of expertise, knowledge and passion for growing franchises and we are very excited to welcome them to the WildBrain CPLG Greece team.

“We have a diverse and colourful portfolio in the Greek market, including brands such as PAW Patrol, Peanuts and Emoji to name just a few, and I look forward to working closely with Alice and Despina as we propel the success of all our brands even further.”

On top of this, WildBrain CPLG is boosting its wider international team with new hires across its territory offices, including: Urszula Anglik as retail and sales manager for Central and Eastern Europe, who joins from FOX Networks Group, Abdel Yakoub as sales manager for Benelux, who joins from Libbey Inc, and Ross Melland as product development coordinator for Benelux, who has spent the last decade as an Art Director in advertising.

Completing the new hires is Nayade Martin Perez who joins as retail licensing manager for Spain from fashion licensee Padma Textiles, and Artem Basharin as licensing manager for WildBrain CPLG Pullman in Russia, who previously worked in fashion retail.

Licensing specialist Martin Withers takes up sales director role at Pyramid International

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The licensed gifts specialist, Pyramid International has welcomed martin Withers to the role of sales director, joining the team from Spearmark International where he served as commercial director for 15 years.

Withers joins the team with vast experience and understanding of the licensing industry, with a particular focus on housewares and lighting categories.

In his new role, Withers will lead the sales division at Pyramid International, bolstering an enthusiastic team that, according to Pyramid, saw great success at retail during a difficult 2019. Withers will explore how to maximise the opportunities available in 2020 and beyond around the firm’s growing portfolio of both products and licenses.

“I am very excited to be joining such a successful and ambitious company as Pyramid International where there are so many great products, licenses and retail opportunities,” commented Withers.

“I have been really impressed with the energy and entrepreneurial spirit I have seen within the business and I couldn’t pass up the chance to be part of it. I am looking forward to helping take the business to even higher levels.”

Fox, Universal, and Capcom licensee Fanattik picks up Small Business of the Year award

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The pop culture gift and collectables specialist, Fanattik is celebrating its major win last week when it picked up the award for Small Business of the Year presented by the Federation of Small Business.

The popular film and video game licensee currently boasts partnerships with some of the biggest studios on the scene, including the likes of 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, Bethesda, Microsoft, and Capcom. Fanattik was handed the accolade at an event held on Friday, February 28th.

The award has added to what Fanattik MD, Anthony Marks has already earmarked as a major year for the fast-growing company who has made a big name for itself in the pop culture gifting space.

“2020 is going to be a huge year for us, the response from retailers who visited the Fanattik stand at Spring Fair was better than we could have hoped for and to now follow that up with this award is a great way for us to start the year,” said Marks.

Fanattik product has previously been nominated for Gift of the Year several times in the past.

“But this award is extra special as it honours the whole team from the warehouse to buying and shows that a small company producing high quality items can compete with the major players in the gift industry,” Marks added.

For further information on the Fanattik gift and collectible ranges contact hello@fanattik.co.uk

Warner Bros. Consumer Products opens first office in Poland naming Dorota Pawlowska director of licensing and retail

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Warner Bros. Consumer Products has kicked off 2020 with the grand opening of its first dedicated office in Poland.

The office, located in Warsaw, is owned and operated by WBCP, joining other European offices in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The new team will represent WarnerMedia’s licensing business that also covers Cartoon Network franchises like Ben 10 and The Powerpuff Girls.

The portfolio also spans the Adult Swim hit Rick and Morty and HBO properties, including the globe-spanning mega hit Game of Thrones.

“We are very excited to set up a new office in Poland’s capital city,” said Julian Moon, senior vice president EMEA, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “The potential for expanding our consumer products and licensing business in Eastern Europe is immense. We know that the top-tier properties we are representing have already proven to have incredible resonance in Poland.

“Having talented people on the ground will allow us to enhance our retail relationships and further explore many more opportunities throughout the country and the region.”

The new office will give the company a foothold in the burgeoning Eastern European market. WBCP will concentrate its efforts on leveraging WarnerMedia’s award-winning portfolio of franchises including DC Comics, Wizarding World and iconic classic animation including Scooby-Doo, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry.

To staff the new office, Dorota Pawlowska, has been appointed as the new director of licensing and retail. Joining from Cartoon Network where she held the position of licensing director for Central Eastern Europe, Pawlowska has a long track record of innovation and creativity in the licensing business and will leverage her years of experience within the Time Warner business to establish WBCP’s new footprint in the country.

Industry backs The Sustainability in Licensing Conference as it readies for June debut

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BBC Studios, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and ViacomCBS are just a smattering of the industry big hitter to throw their support behind the Sustainability in Licensing Conference, an initiative aimed at breaking new grounds within the licensing industry’s sustainability efforts.

In a show of support for the concept launched in a joint venture by Max Publishing and Helena Mansell-Stopher, founder of the Products of Change Group, the industry has been quick to back the event, with its roster of partners climbing to 20 within weeks of its announcement.

Already the likes of MDR Brand Management, the Natural History Museum, Hasbro, Character World, TDP Textiles, Brandgenuity, Change Plastics for Good, Smiffys, Dreamtex, Kids Industries, and Amscan have got behind the project as it prepares to debut this year.

This roster has been joined by the likes of GB eye, Global Brands Europe, Those Licensing People, University of Oxford, and Discovery Inc.

To be held at The British Library on Thursday, June 11th 2020, the Sustainability in Licensing Conference 2020 is aimed at everyone in the licensing arena, from retailers to licensors, licensees to trade suppliers.

Its aim is to help the industry future-proof its businesses with insight on how to develop sustainable strategies, taking into consideration how a given organisation operates in today’s ecological, social and economic environment.

The Sustainability in Licensing Conference (SILC 2020) will look to inspire and inform as to how the dynamic licensing sector can continue to innovate and grow commercially while not costing the planet.

“Sustainability is so much more than a buzzword, it is and will continue to be, a vital driver of business decisions,” said Mansell-Stopher, conference director and curator. “To drive sustainable growth within the licensing industry over the next few decades will require a radical approach to business practices be it through embracing new materials and production techniques, re-engineering packaging or adopting new marketing methods, all without sacrificing financial growth.

“Our aim with SILC 2020 is to help both future-proof our industry and our world.”

The conference’s agenda will see leading lights and visionaries from outside and within the industry as well as retail experts, sharing their achievements and demonstrating the gains, both environmentally and financially, that can be made.

“The licensing industry is huge and multi-farious – generating US$272 billion at retail at the last count. The brands and properties that feature on all manner of consumer goods across the whole retail spectrum bring so much pleasure to millions of people,” continued Mansell-Stopher.

“I have every confidence that the learnings shared at the Sustainability in Licensing Conference will see some significant gains being made on the environmental front too. We’re all on this journey together, but ensuring we establish a more sustainable footing is no distant wish, it’s very much a necessity.”

Demonstrating its own commitment to the cause, SILC has secured an additional partnership with Offset Earth to ensure the conference is fully carbon offset.

The event’s partnership with Offset Earth will mean that running the conference, along with its attendees, will generate the planting of 720 mangrove trees in Madagascar, an area that houses more than 200,000 species of plants and animals that do not live anywhere else in the world.

However, more than 90 per cent of Madagascar’s original forests have been destroyed, displacing entire animal species and taking away the Malagasy’s ability to farm and live on the land. Entire mangrove estuaries are gone, leaving the bare earth to wash away into the sea.

Funds from SILC 2020 will support the non-profit Eden Reforestation Projects as it continues to reforest the island. Eden is a world leader in responsible reforestation, having already planted 265 million trees and created 2.6 million work days for local communities.

Sustainability in Licensing Conference 2020 – the line-up

Meanwhile, already a content framework for the day has been detailed, highlighting the need for greater change with talks on the following topics:

  • Why change? – 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and what they mean for the industry and the individual
  • How can business contribute towards a sustainable future?
  • Designing out waste – why design plays an important part in the sustainability journey
  • Plastic innovation in packaging and SUPs
  • Collaborations and why these are so important
  • How to unlock sustainable finance and the need to review how we track finance within corporations’ gross domestic product
  • Why we need to move to a circular economy business model
  • Innovation within fashion manufacturing and retail
  • Marketing and communications – both internal and external
  • A panel with leaders from the toy industry, discussing the road ahead and how to manage change collectively
  • What retail requires from the industry
  • A panel with UK retailers, coming together to drive change

Find out how to book your place at this year’s Sustainability in Licensing Conference by clicking here.

Rainbow brings in former Toy Plus director Michael Block as CEO of its Witty Toys business

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The European animation house and entertainment studio, Rainbow, has brought in the former Toy Plus director and senior Hasbro executive, Michael Block as CEO of its own toy company, Witty Toys.

Block will drive the vision of the group forward, utilising his experience as an executive and entrepreneur in the management of growing brands.

“I’m really excited to join the Rainbow family and bring my expertise to Witty Toys. I look forward to exploring new opportunities and to developing new projects, while facing the challenges the competitive and dynamic toy industry offers,” commented Block.

Prior to taking up this key role at Witty Toys – established by Rainbow back in 2008 – Block has been running a consulting business, served as a director of Greenmonkey Yoga and was advisor to Real Eats.

He was previously a partner and director of Toy Plus and director of Smart Christmas Solutions. For over 14 years, Block held senior management and international sales and marketing roles at Hasbro.

Alongside his career in the entertainment industry, Block is also an active philanthropist and leader, committed to addressing issues of food insecurity, hunger, and homelessness. He currently serves on the board of directors of several nonprofits, including Voices for Children Foundation, Feeding South Florida and Swipe Out Hunger.

Planeta Junior names Paula Taborda dos Guaranys as director of content

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Planeta Junior has bolstered its executive team with the appointment of Paula Taborda dos Guaranys as its director of content. She will lead the creation of a strong content portfolio through co-productions, original productions, and acquisition.

She will report directly to Diego Ibáñez, Planeta Junior’s international commercial director.

Paula Taborda dos Guaranys was the creative and business mind behind the Globo Group children’s channels, responsible for putting Brazil on the map of major kids’ players, closing several coproduction agreements including Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Paper Port, Trulli Tales, Denver, Power Players, Alice & Lewis, Dronix, and others.

“It is an honour to have the opportunity to work at Grupo Planeta, a communication leader in Spain, and to extend my content expertise from Planeta Junior in Spain throughout the group’s offices in Europe,” she said.

“It’s a brand new start full of challenges and joy and I’d like to thank Ignacio Segura and Diego Ibáñez for entrusting me with this opportunity.”

Paula Taborda’s new role forms part of the Planeta Junior strategy for becoming a global children and youth entertainment company. It currently owns over 350 hours’ co-produced content featuring big name series like Gormiti, Power Players and Squish, with further series in development including: That’s Joey, Milo, Tilly, Superpigs and Pio Rocks.