The Jim henson Company
maTTel
Shane Mang, executive Director, global conSuMer ProDuctS
Ynon Kriez, ceo
In his new role, Mang will oversee licensing activities for the company’s children’s brands, classic franchises, and several as-ofyet unannounced properties. These include Dot., renewed for a second season launching fall 2018 (produced by Industrial Brothers in association with Henson and the CBC); Dinosaur Train, which airs in the U.S. on PBS KIDS; Doozers, a Hulu Original series for kids with season two to debut this summer; Splash and Bubbles (co-produced with Herschend Studios, the media arm of Herschend Enterprises) airing on PBS KIDS; and Word Party, a Netflix Original. Mang will also oversee programs for popular classic franchises such as Farscape, Fraggle Rock, Labyrinth, and The Dark Crystal. He will report to Chris Lytton, COO and executive vice-president of strategy and business Affairs. Mang joins The Jim Henson Company from DHX Media where he served as business development manager, Americas. During his tenure, he managed a portfolio of global entertainment properties including Teletubbies, Mega Man, Caillou, Slugterra, Massive Monster Mayhem, Inspector Gadget, Degrassi, and more, managing a network of partners including licensees and manufacturers, licensing agencies, sales teams, toy distributors, and mass and specialty North American retailers. Prior to that, Mang served as manager of licensing and distribution at Nerd Corps Entertainment.
KidKrafT Debra berMan, cMo As chief marketing officer, Berman will oversee global marketing, with a focus on building the brand using data sciences and consumer marketing strategy. Berman will report to CEO Lawrence Writer. Most recently, Berman led marketing at Yahoo! as part of the senior leadership team that finalized the Verizon acquisition, where she was accountable for product marketing, audience engagement and customer brand strategy. Prior, she oversaw marketing at JCPenney during the company’s critical turnaround, and under her leadership the customer base and brand health were restored.
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Kreiz took over as CEO effective April 26, succeeding Margo Georgiadis’ plans to step down. Kreiz also serves as chairman of the board. Kreiz is the former chairman and CEO of Maker Studios, which was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2014. He previously served as chairman and CEO of Endemol Group. Prior, he was co-founder, chairman and CEO of Fox Kids Europe N.V., establishing it as a top pay-TV provider in Europe and the Middle East, which led to its acquisition by The Walt Disney Company in 2001. Kreiz has served on Mattel’s board since June 2017, and also serves on the board of directors at Warner Music Group and is also a member of the Board of Advisors of the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Universal Brand developmenT JoSePh KiM, SvP WorlDWiDe gaMeS & Digital Reporting to Chris Heatherly, executive vice-president, worldwide games and digital platforms, Kim will lead strategy and operations for Universal’s games publishing business. In this new role, he will oversee slate and product management, marketing, user acquisition, and revenue optimization across all games and apps. Kim comes to Universal from SEGA Networks, where he served as chief product officer since 2015. There, he led the resurgence of its mobile games business and oversaw publishing operations, including product management, analytics, production services and the green light process. He also served as general manager for SEGA’s Demiurge studio, which developed the hit title Marvel Puzzle Quest. Prior to that, Kim was the studio lead for the Strategy Games division of FunPlus. In this role, he led the overall development for King of Avalon: Dragon Warfare. He started his career as a software developer for Cisco Systems and later as a management consultant for The McKenna Group before transitioning to the mobile gaming industry.