Licensing International has elected six new members to its Board of Directors, each taking up their post from July 1st this year.
LMCA’s Alan Kravetz, Miller Kaplan’s Vincent Leoni, and Sesame Workshop’s Valerie Mitchell Johnston join Peanuts Worldwide’s Roz Nowicki, Encantos’ Steven Wolfe Pereira, and IMG’s Miki Yamamoto in taking up the new roles.
On top of this, Jay Asher, partner at Brandgenuity, was elected as Chairperson of the Board for a two-year term, while Steve Scebelo, vice president at the NFLPA was elected as Vice Chair for a one-year term.
“I’m pleased to welcome the six new members of our Board, whose diverse voices and experience will be invaluable as we look for new, agile ways to serve the members of the global licensing community in these challenging times,” said Licensing International president, Maura Regan.
“I’d also like to thank the outgoing members of our Board for their time and dedication – JJ Ahearn, Cindy Levitt, Marc Mostman, Celso Rafael and Jamie Stevens.”
As president and COO of Leveraged Marketing Corporation of America, Kravetz has spent more than 30 years growing brands and monetising IP across the globe. He is an active member of INTA and a frequent speaker on trademark licensing and strategy conferences, trade shows, and continuing legal education seminars.
Meanwhile, Vincent Leoni is a partner at Miller Kaplan with more than 30 years of experience in entertainment, media and technology. He provides royalty, contract compliance, profit participation, litigation support and consulting services on behalf of licensors, licensees, owners of intellectual property, film studios, production companies, recording artists, music publishers, profit participants and software developers.
Valerie Mitchell Johnston, vice president and deputy general counsel at boasts past experience which includes the role of deputy general counsel of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, as well as vice president, business and legal affairs for HIT Entertainment. During her tenure at HIT, the company was acquired by Mattel, Inc. and Valerie served as lead counsel for the Entertainment Distribution Group and head of the New York legal team.
Roz Nowicki, EVP at Peanuts Worldwide has extensive experience in licensing management in larger corporations. From her early formative years at Disney, and high growth years at Universal, to a longer stint with 4Kids Entertainment she has gained vast knowledge and global licensing contacts.
CEO and co-founder of Encantos, Steven Wolfe Pereira is an accomplished media, marketing and technology executive who established the current business to inspire kids to learn 21st Century skills through play. Focused on kids 12 and under, Encantos’ family brands include the Emmy-nominated and two time Kidscreen award-winning No. 1 bilingual preschool brand Canticos, the food-focused Issa’s Edible Adventures, the Day of the Dead-inspired resilience brand Skeletitos, and the adventure-based travel brand Tiny Travelers.
A female-owned B-Corp that puts diversity, equality, and inclusion at the heart of all it creates, Encantos brings its brands to life via digital and physical offerings including apps, books, consumer products, music, subscription services, videos and more.
Finally, Miki Yamamoto is senior vice president of IMG and is responsible for the development and management of various licensing programs and clients that IMG represents in Asia, including Sesame Street, MGM, Care Bears, Pepsi, NFL, Jeep, Volkswagen, and many other properties.
Prior to IMG, Yamamoto worked for Calvin Klein Japan, managing the local licensing program with more than 500 branded retail shops and related fashion and accessory items.
