Safaa Benazzouz (pictured) joins French animation studio Xilam (Oggy and the Cockroaches) as its SVP of media sales distribution for Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Southern Europe, effective February 25.

In her new role based at Xilam’s head office in Paris, the former Superights sales manager as will look for sales opportunities across the Xilam’s portfolio of kids properties, which includes Oggy and the Cockroaches, Zig & Sharko, Paprika and new series Mr Magoo and Moka.

Benazzouz will report to the company’s EVP of global sales development, Morgann Favennec, whom she worked under when Favennec founded Superights in 2013. (Favennec left Superights for Xilam in summer 2017.) Benazzouz will work alongside Céline Carenco—Xilam’s SVP of media distribution for Asia-Pacific, Northern and Eastern Europe—to strengthen the studio’s international presence.

She will replace Xialam’s current SVP of media distribution for LatAm and Iberia Leyla Formoso, who will be leaving at the end of February to take up a new position as SVP of international distribution and acquisitions at Canadian prodco Pipeline Studios.

Benazzouz joins Xilam after serving nearly six years at French kids’ distribution company Superights (Pat the Dog) as sales manager for Asia, Latin America, Spain, the Middle East and Africa. She also handled in-flight sales, acquisitions and global strategies.

The appointment follows of string of international broadcast deals for Xilam, including Turner taking Mr Magoo for its Boomerang channel in France, French- and English-speaking Africa, the Middle East, Israel, Turkey, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Central & Eastern Europe. Discovery Kids also recently acquired the series for Latin America.