Genius Brands International Inc. just took another big step toward growing its properties around the world.
Licensing and branding executive Kerry Phelan has been appointed to the new role of executive vice president and general manager of global franchise management at the company behind Kartoon Channel! and Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten. Phelan joins the company from Lionsgate where she served as president of global franchise management.
As a longtime executive at The LEGO Group, Phelan led the launch of LEGO Star Wars in 1999 and was immediately recruited into Lucasfilm to serve as senior director of global licensing. From there, Phelan held top licensing and branding spots at Pixar Animation Studios and DreamWorks. At Genius Brands, Phelan will report to Chairman and CEO Andy Heyward and President of Global Content Sales, Marketing & Consumer Products Harold Chizick.
“Kerry’s pedigree and reputation in entertainment branding is unparalleled as she has driven the global revenue streams of some of the most lucrative franchises in history,” Chizick says. “In the coming year, we have multiple properties launching into the global retail marketplace, including Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, which just premiered on Kartoon Channel!, as well as Shaq’s Garage and Stan Lee Universe plus more categories coming to market around Rainbow Rangers. Kerry’s leadership and strategic guidance will be instrumental in driving the growth of our brands around the world. She is a dream executive to have on board to help us achieve our long-term goals.”
“The majority of my career has been spent building properties into global franchises, specifically in the children’s space,” Phelan says. “Having had a peek at the coming pipeline, I am excited about the future at Genius Brands and the opportunity to build bigger brand ecosystems around their properties.”
Over the course of her 30-year career, Phelan has managed consumer products and licensing initiatives for brands including Star Wars, Disney•Pixar Cars, Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, The Hunger Games, Twilight, and more.
