Only six months into her EVP and GM of global franchise management role, Kerry Phelan has been promoted to chief brand officer at Genius Brands International. She’s now responsible for overall global brand strategy, consumer products, partnerships and retail development for properties such as Rainbow Rangers, Shaq’s Garage and Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten.
GBI has gone through a period of significant M&A-driven expansion recently, acquiring Canadian streaming service Ameba TV and Canadian prodco Wow! Unlimited Media, and making a major investment in German distributor/broadcaster YFE.
Prior to joining GBI last July, Phelan served in a series of high-level consumer products and brand strategy roles at Pixar, DreamWorks Animation and Lucasfilm.
Her promotion comes on the heels of GBI appointing former Disney exec Todd Steinman as chief revenue and marketing officer last week, with a remit to drive growth. Harold Chizick and Jennifer Chizick, the founders of GBI-owned marketing agency ChizComm, departed both companies earlier this month.