Genius Brands has announced the promotion of Kerry Phelan to the newly created position of Chief Brand Officer. This follows the company’s recent acquisitions of Canada’s WOW! Unlimited Media and Ameba TV, major investment in Germany’s Your Family Entertainment (YFE) to build a global footprint, as well as the worldwide rollout of Kartoon Channel!/Kartoon Channel! Kidaverse.
Phelan joined Genius Brands in July 2021 as Executive Vice President & General Manager of Global Franchise Management after serving for 30 years in consumer products and retail executive roles at numerous studios, including Lucasfilm, Dreamworks Animation and Pixar, where she built global campaigns for multi-billion dollar brands such as the Star Wars and Cars franchises, as well as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar, among many others.
As Genius Brands has expanded significantly over the past year with multiple acquisitions, Phelan’s role is expanding to include global brand building across all Genius Brands’ businesses. As Chief Brand Officer, Phelan is charged with building out a 360° ecosystem with multiple consumer touchpoints while driving significant incremental revenue for the company. She will be responsible for overall global brand strategy, consumer products, brand partnerships and collaborations, brand experiences, retail development and more, for Genius Brands’ roster of kids’ properties, including Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, Shaq’s Garage, Stan Lee Universe, Rainbow Rangers, among others in development.
“It’s a tremendous privilege for us to have an executive of Kerry’s calibre, with her successful track record of launching some of the most successful brands in entertainment history… leading the charge as we continue to launch new IP into the market and roll out existing brands on a global scale,” says Genius Brands’ CEO Andy Heyward. “Genius Brands is experiencing its most significant growth to date with our slate of acquisitions further bolstering our content catalogue and giving us a greater worldwide footprint, and we are in a solid position to take our company to the next level and achieve our goals of delivering quality children’s franchise to the marketplace and revenue to our shareholders.”
“In less than a year of joining Genius Brands, I am excited to be a part of a company that is leading the charge in the kids’ space to deliver innovative, purpose-driven brands to the marketplace while building a global platform to reach kids anywhere, anytime with quality content,” adds Phelan. “It is truly amazing to be a part of the team at Genius Brands and to play a role in the growth of the company, and I look forward to the years ahead as we continue to build our brands and platform on a global scale.”
