Source: Genius Brands/The Toy Book

Genius Brands International continues making moves.

The company behind Kartoon Channel! and Rainbow Rangers promoted Michael Jaffa to chief operating officer from his previous role as general counsel and senior vice president of business affairs. Jaffa will retain his legal responsibilities while taking the reins in overseeing the business operations of production, consumer products, global distribution, human resources, and diversity.

“Since joining Genius Brands in 2018, Mike has been a tireless leader in driving the business forward as we lay the foundations for the next great kids company,” says Genius Brands’ Chairman and CEO Andy Heyward. “Heading into 2021, we are poised to take a giant leap forward with the execution of business strategies for our new brands, Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, Shaq’s Garage, and Stan Lee Universe, joining tentpoles Rainbow Rangers and Llama Llama, and the continued rapid expansion of our digital platform, Kartoon Channel! now in over 100 million U.S. TV households, and available in virtually the entire country.”

Jaffa, previously of DreamWorks Animation Television and Hasbro Studios, is overseeing the integration of Chizcomm Ltd. and Chizcomm Beacon Media, which Genius Brands recently acquired.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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