BBC Studios to drive Bluey licensing growth across the Americas with new SVP of consumer products and business development

BBC Studios – Americas has promoted Suzy Raia to the role of senior vice president, consumer products and business development, where she will oversee and provide licensing planning for the hit preschool franchise, Bluey alongside Doctor Who, Top Gear, His Dark Materials, and Natural History Unit programming.

Tara Maitra, chief commercial officer, BBC Studios – Americas, said: “Bluey has quickly grown to become a favorite brand among preschool-aged children and their families due in large part to Suzy’s fastidious devotion to the brand, as well as her keen insight into smart consumer product strategy.

“This well-deserved promotion acknowledges Suzy’s leadership in developing the Bluey franchise so successfully in such a short time, as well as for the positioning of the brand for continued, record-breaking growth in the future.”

Since joining BBC Studios in 2018, Raia has been responsible for driving the licensing and consumer products strategies across its portfolio of properties for the US, Canada, and Latin America. Her purview includes product licensing across multiple genres, including factual and natural history content, drama series, science fiction, and children’s animation.

Raia said: “I am living and breathing Bluey every day, and could not ask for a better brand in which to be fully immersed. We have launched a robust licensing program in the US, with extensions in Canada and Latin America alongside our Master Toy Licensee Moose as well as many other best-in- class licensees. All I can say is, the best is yet to come.”

Prior to BBC Studios, Raia built her career over 19 years at Nickelodeon, where she most recently served as the vice president of partnerships and collaborations within the consumer products division. In that role, Raia executed ground-breaking deals including Moschino X SpongeBob, Jeremy Scott X Ren & Stimpy, Story X Nick 90’s, TMNT X Melo (Carmelo Anthony), and SpongeBob(RED).

Raia also served as vice president of apparel and accessories for over 10 years, tripling the business during her tenure with hit properties including SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Paw Patrol, Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, and more. Earlier in her career, she worked across a variety of categories which included activity, toy, back-to-school, stationery, and seasonal, with an expanded oversight across Viacom properties including Nickelodeon’s children’s portfolio, Comedy Central’s South Park, and Paramount’s The Godfather, Audrey Hepburn, and many more.