Crunchyroll Names John Leonhardt Head of Consumer Products

Crunchyroll appointed John Leonhardt as head of consumer products. In his new role, Leonhardt is responsible for leading the consumer products team and building merchandising programs around the content Crunchyroll delivers to its community of anime fans.

Prior to joining Crunchyroll, Leonhardt led Dimensional Branding Group’s licensing and brand extension practice on behalf of its clients. He brings more than 20 years of experience managing the intellectual property portfolios of corporate brands, gaming companies, publishers, celebrities and inventors. His background of cross-discipline experience from investment banking, music management, entertainment development and video game licensing includes clients and brands, such as Yahoo!, eBay, Sony Playstation, Chronicle Books, Sega, Temple Run, King Kong, John Wayne, Malibu Rum, Angry Birds, Talking Tom, Highlights for Children, and more.

Over the course of his career, Leonhardt has created and/or co-founded the licensing departments or divisions of Sega of America, Yahoo!, Sony Playstation, Imangi Studios, and Highlights for Children.

About the author

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.