Category: You’re Hired

Superights, international distribution division of Seperpod Group, ups Hugo Brochard to International Sales Manager and hires Élodie Friess as new sales coordinator. They will report to Nathalie Pinguet, Superights’ Deputy Managing Director Sales and Acquisitions. Based in Paris, Hugo will oversee sales in Eastern Europe territories, Spain, Portugal, Africa, Latin America and Inflight zones while Elodie will ensure sales coordination and administration. According to Pinguet, the appointments “support our objective of strengthening the team to manage a growing catalogue with many new series to come.

Academy Award-nominated French animation studio Xilam Animation has upped Safaa Benazzouz to the position of EVP Distribution, effective 1 September 2023. Previously Deputy EVP Distribution, Benazzouz will replace the company’s outgoing EVP Distribution, Morgann Favennec. In her new role, Benazzouz will lead the worldwide distribution strategies across Xilam’s new and forthcoming productions, including Karate Sheep, Oggy Oggy and Buddybot, and its existing catalogue, which includes Oggy and the Cockroaches, Zig & Sharko, Where’s Chicky? and Athleticus. Additionally, she will be responsible for driving sales across the US, UK, Ireland, Germany, South Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America; and managing the four teams within Xilam’s distribution department: international sales, digital, licensing and marketing. She will continue to be based in Xilam’s head office in Paris and will now report into the company’s Founder and CEO, Marc du Pontavice.

Playview Brands, a leading toy company with a growing portfolio of esteemed brands and licenses, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Domenic Bettini as its new Director of Business Development. With over 20 years of success in growing brand revenues and market share, Bettini will play a pivotal role in driving Playview Brands to new heights. Domenic Bettini’s new role complements Playview Brands’ increasing scope of fun with their NERF license renewal, new partnership with entertainment franchise Minecraft, upcoming My HeroMail, and jigsaw lines, including KI Puzzles. Bettini will spearhead Playview’s efforts to identify and capitalize on new business opportunities for their roster of renowned brands.

Falcon’s Beyond Global, LLC, a diversified global entertainment, consumer experience, and technology enterprise that accelerates intellectual property (IP) activations concurrently across physical and digital experiences, announced that it has named Toni Caracciolo as Executive Vice President of Marketing and Branding, reporting to company President Simon Philips. In this newly created position, Caracciolo will advance the strong momentum Falcon’s has established over the past year as the company launched multiple projects, initiatives, and experiences across its three core business units: Falcon’s Creative Group, Falcon’s Beyond Destinations and Falcons Beyond Brands. Her deep travel experience is particularly relevant to the planned future growth of Falcon’s Beyond Destinations. Through this division, earlier this year, Falcon’s opened both Falcon’s Resort by Meliá | All Suites Punta Cana and the adjacent Katmandu Park | Punta Cana, the first theme park of its kind in the Caribbean, together offering a unique “resortainment” hospitality experience. 

Toikido, the London-based entertainment company on the cutting edge of digital design and toys, has named the internet’s most followed magician, mega influencer Sean Sotaridona, aka “Sean Does Magic,“ global brand ambassador for its buzzed-about new in-house IP, Piñata Smashlings. Sean Does Magic’s animated character officially enters the Piñata Smashlings Roblox game today as its newest Smashlings character. Having first discovered his love for magic at the age of 6 by watching YouTube videos, Sean Does Magic has since become renowned for performing card tricks and other illusions, cultivating an online community of over 30 million followers, captivated by his kind, generous, and inspiring personality and unique storytelling capability.

Invisible Universe has announced the appointment of Jonathan Schneider as President, Invisible Universe Studios. Based in Los Angeles, Schneider will oversee the company’s continued optimization of its animation studio, while exploring other revenue-driving operations for the fast-growing media company. Schneider is a seasoned executive having held senior positions for powerhouse companies such as Disney and Skydance. He brings not only deep animation industry expertise to Invisible Universe but also more than two decades of proven experience growing and leading teams. In his new role, Schneider will lead the company in its adoption of new technologies, including those associated with AI, motion capture, and real-time rendering, while building new business verticals for the company.

Margie Benford will lead the design, development and marketing for University Games’ award-winning BePuzzled and Murder Mystery Party Divisions, which includes University Games’ highly anticipated The Night Hunter game (August 2023), as well as the vast collection of 3D Crystal Puzzles and popular Hanayama Cast Puzzles. Benford’s experience also provides University Games with seasoned executive leadership for the company’s existing and future licensed property puzzle lines. She will report directly to Craig Hendrickson, SVP of Product Development.

schleich, the German manufacturer of figurines and playsets, igniting the joy of storytelling in children, announces the promotion of David Albert to President of schleich North America. With this newly created position, schleich further strengthens its commitment to investing in the North American market while expanding to schleich brand across the world. Joining schleich in 2014, David Albert lead teams within Product Management, Strategic Business Development and Global Analytics at a corporate level.  Since 2019, David Albert has co-led the North America division as Chief Operations Officer alongside Annie-Laurie Zomermaand as Chief Commercial Officer.  Together they led the development of a sustainable schleich North America business and organization, partnering with leading retail customers and developing awareness of the schleich brand in the region. Under their leadership, the schleich North America business experienced continuous growth in the last years.

Mattel, Inc (NASDAQ: MAT) announced that Richard Dickson, President and Chief Operating Officer, will step down from his position with the Company effective August 3, 2023 to take the role of president and chief executive officer at another public company. Richard Dickson has been at Mattel for a collective 20 years.