LA-based prodco Genius Brands International has hired Jeff Shapiro as VP of retail development to build new retail partnerships and programs for the company’s brands.

Starting today, Shapiro will report to Lloyd Mintz, Genius Brands’ SVP of global consumer products. The two of them will implement retail initiatives for the company’s children’s channel Baby Genius and its animated series Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab and Warren Buffet’s Secret Millionaires Club. They will also work together on retail programs for Genius Brands flagship animated shows Rainbow Rangers, which airs on Nick Jr. in the US, and the Netflix Original preschool series Llama Llama.

Prior to joining the prodco, Shapiro was director of sales at Warner Bros. Before that, he held worked at 20th Century Fox as the VP of retail sales and market, and at Sony Pictures Entertainment as the executive director of sales promotions. He also has experience from Disney as the director of marketing and promotions, where he managed product launches for for the House of Mouse’s TV programs.

Hiring Shapiro is the latest hire Genius Brands has made this year. In January, the company brought on board Natalie Setton as SVP of global content distribution and also added Jon Ollwerther to its management team as VP of business development to help with the company’s expansion plans.