Moonbug has hired former Disney VP Francesca Romana Gianesin to head up its licensing business in EMEA, Australia and New Zealand.
In her newly created head of consumer products role, Gianesin will focus on kids brands including CoComelon, Little Baby Bum and Blippi. She’s based in the UK, and will work closely with Moonbug’s L&M team in the US.
A 20-year Disney alum, Gianesin most recently served as SVP of Disneyland Paris, leading strategy and design for the theme park’s experiences. During her lengthy tenure, she also served as VP of consumer products for EMEA, with responsibility for developing Disney’s brands in the fashion, lifestyle and apparel categories in 42 countries. Before joining Disney in 2001, Gianesin held sales positions at SC Johnson and Unichips.
Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ company Candle Media acquired Moonbug last November. After building up its content catalogue by acquiring brands such as CoCoMelon in 2020 and the Little Angel YouTube network in February, Moonbug has been hiring new talent to expand the ancillary reach of its IPs. In February, the company brought in former Nickelodeon VP Susan Vargo as its first-ever head of live events. And a month later, it set up former NBCUniversal consumer products manager Marisela Escobedo as its senior territory manager in Latin America.