Expansion within the Henson Independent Properties (HIP) banner has led to three new hires and a promotion for The Jim Henson Company’s international distribution division.

Andrew Thomas has been upped to director of global distribution, Sales & Marketing, where he will focus on television sales worldwide and will support the company’s clients in the TV, DVD and distribution sectors. Meanwhile, former NBC Universal exec Karen Lee Arbeeny has stepped into the newly formed position of executive director, Distribution Business Affairs. Casie Shapiro is joining from Paramount Pictures’ Home Media Distribution division as director of Global Distribution, Sales, and Adam Lucas, formerly at Comcast, is the company’s new distribution coordinator.

Henson’s distribution business currently services clients in more than 200 countries on multiple media platforms. Henson’s HIP banner is a third-party licensing and distribution arm that reps such brands as The Annoying Orange.