Epic Story Media Taps Former eOne, Nickelodeon Execs for New Roles

Epic Story Media Inc. (ESM) expanded its executive ranks this week. The company hired former Entertainment One (eOne) Acquisitions Vice President Jessica Labi as head of distribution and brand strategy alongside former Nickelodeon Vice President of Toys David Sztoser as head of licensing and merchandise. The duo will work across ESM’s slate of creator-led brands — a lineup recently expanded to represent global licensing rights to international phenomenon Slugterra, in addition to licensing and television rights to Chaotic.

“We’ve started the year strong at Epic Story Media with two incredible new team members, Jessica and David, joining us as well as adding to a burgeoning slate of dynamic, creator-led brands for them to sink their teeth into,” says Ken Faier, president and founder of ESM. “The company is founded on the belief that creators should be in the driving seat for their IP as it’s developed and expanded – an approach which is attracting talent across the board to partner with us.”

Labi joins ESM with over eighteen years’ experience in kids and family content distribution. Beginning her career at kaBOOM! Entertainment/Phase 4 Films, Labi was responsible for marketing and distributing brands including Franklin the Turtle, The Bernstein Bears, Cat in the Hat, Chuggington, and Paw Patrol. After eOne acquired Phase 4, Labi became part of eOne’s USA Films/Momentum Pictures as vice president of acquisitions. Most recently she was at Viva Pictures serving as senior vice president. She also set up Hubble Entertainment.

Sztoser has worked for more than seventeen years in entertainment licensing and merchandising before joining ESM. Sztoser began his career at New Line Cinema as an assistant, then product coordinator on brands such as The Lord of the Rings, Austin Powers, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Following New Line, David went on to work 4Kids Entertainment managing brands such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Chaotic, and Yu-Gi-Oh!. He spent the past eight years at Viacom as the vice president of toys under the Nickelodeon division, leading the kids 6-11 team responsible for the hard goods categories of toys, video games, sporting goods, consumer electronics, and high-end collectibles for TMNT, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Paw Patrol.

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.