American Greetings Properties (AGP), the intellectual property and outbound licensing division of American Greetings Corporation, is revamping its licensing, entertainment, digital, and distribution teams, starting with the hire of former longtime Zodiak Kids executive Karen Vermeulen. Vermeulen joins AGP as its new head of global sales and co-productions, and will initially be based out of London.
For the past five years, she was senior vice president of global sales and co-production at Zodiak Kids, where she managed the business strategy, co-productions, and strategic partners on a global level. Vermeulen successfully partnered Zodiak properties with Disney, Nick Jr., Sprout, Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, and other video-on-demand providers.
In addition to the new hire of Vermeulen, AGP is making other personnel changes designed to prepare the division for the growth it is already seeing in its worldwide relaunch of Care Bears, new IP, and other classic content. Effective immediately, Janice Ross, the former vice president of marketing, becomes head of global licensing. Ross is a longtime American Greetings associate and former executive at Lego. She moves into the chief licensing position at a time when Care Bears content is airing in more than 100 countries, undergoing a worldwide new toy launch with partner Just Play, and about to kick off a new Netflix original series, Care Bears & Cousins.
Megan Buettner, formerly AGP’s vice president of creative and 10-year veteran of American Greetings, will move forward as head of creative studios. She will also take on additional duties as the division’s head of new media, overseeing the launch of six new licensed apps releasing this year and launching localized interactive Care Bears websites globally.
Angelina Castro, former director of public relations and longtime member of American Greetings’ interactive division, assumes larger duties as AGP’s new head of marketing. She will manage all aspects of the division’s global branding, marketing, and public relations programs.
Ryan Wiesbrock will continue to oversee new IP development as head of development and production; and Peter Baghdassarian, head of business affairs, will continue to manage business negotiations. Ross, Castro, Wiesbrock, and Baghdassarian are based in AGP’s Los Angeles office, while Buettner will continue to work out of American Greetings world headquarters and oversee the creative studio in Cleveland, Ohio.
