Hidden Pigeon Company (HPC), the dynamic new multiplatform kids and family content company that is extending the reach of award-winning author/illustrator Mo Willems’s beloved character brands, has appointed Tori Cook as Senior Vice President, Franchise Management. Cook, who joins an expanding team of seasoned professionals at HPC, is a strategic, multidimensional leader with deep expertise in franchise and brand management, consumer products, retail development, and marketing. In addition, HPC has brought on Paula Allen as Publishing Consultant. Allen, president of Screenland Literary Associates, is well-regarded in the publishing business and has played a pivotal role in crafting book deals for authors and facilitating foreign rights licensing for their literary works. Both Cook and Allen report directly to HPC CEO Karen K. Miller.
“Tori and Paula are recognized leaders in their respective fields and fantastic additions to our growing team of exceptional talent,” said Miller. “We are delighted to have both of these outstanding professionals onboard to help us extend our unique IP to an even broader audience of kids and ‘former kids’ across multiple platforms and merchandise categories throughout the U.S. and around the world.”
“I’m very excited to be joining HPC at this point in the company’s growth story,” said Tori Cook. “There are so many opportunities to share Mo Willems’s wonderful and beloved characters with his large and loyal fan base, who already know and love The Pigeon, Elephant & Piggie, and Knuffle Bunny, and to introduce them to new fans. I look forward to helping to drive the growth of these enduring brands in creative new ways.”
“I am so pleased to be working with Hidden Pigeon Company to further develop publishing opportunities for Mo Willems’s terrific library of books and charming and relatable characters,” said Paula Allen. “Mo Willems has brought such brilliantly engaging stories to life for generations of young and young at heart readers and I look forward to working with Karen, Tori, and the whole HPC team to develop even more ways for consumers everywhere to engage with these book-based brands.”
In her new role, Cook is responsible for leading and developing the short- and long-term strategy for HPC on a global scale, including spearheading the growth of the company’s consumer products programs. She is charged with strategically identifying, evaluating, planning, and pursuing franchise opportunities across content development, creative, digital and social media, publishing, consumer products, gaming, and live events.
Prior to joining Hidden Pigeon Company, Tori Cook held positions with leading toy and entertainment companies, most recently with Spin Master as its VP, Global Brand Management and Marketing, where she led the brand marketing and design teams in the Wheels and Action business strategy and product development areas.
Before her time at Spin Master, Cook was VP, Global Franchise Marketing, Retail Development + Location-based Entertainment at Mattel, Inc., where she led the short- and long-term franchise strategy for Masters of the Universe, Barbie, and Hot Wheels, among other key Mattel brands.
Previous to Mattel, Cook was at Saban Brands as SVP, Consumer Products (Licensing, Retail Development + Marketing, Creative, Product Development), and before that at Sanrio as VP, Retail and Business Development.
Allen is a global publishing expert with more than 30 years of experience in the field, the last nine of which were devoted to running her own consultancy. She has been providing literary services to authors and screenplay writers in addition to consulting for businesses that are looking to develop intellectual properties or expand overseas. She is tasked with broadening the Mo Willems universe in licensed formats globally while also building on Willems’s work with the company’s valued publishing partner, Union Square & Co.
Prior to founding Screenland Literary Associates, Allen was SVP, Nickelodeon Global Publishing, DVDs, and Stationery at Nickelodeon Consumer Products. She joined the company in 2009 to help retool and then merge the international and domestic publishing business units into one global organization.
Before Nickelodeon, Allen was VP, Global Publishing at Warner Bros. Consumer Products, where she managed licensing sales of the newly-formed publishing department. Previous to her time at Warner Bros., Allen was Merchandise Manager, Juvenile and Specialty Business at Barnes & Noble, where she managed the non-book and audio book buying departments for the then 1,200-store B. Dalton division.