As Toronto-based animation prodco and game developer Relish Studio primes itself for global expansion, the company has appointed sales and marketing veteran Andrew Milne to help steer it in the right direction.
Milne started in his new role as VP of growth at Relish earlier this week and will focus on marketing strategy and developing new partnerships and opportunities to drive sales and revenue. Based in Ottawa, he will work across the studio’s games, animation and digital divisions, reporting to Relish CEO Paul Pattison.
In the short term, Relish plans to scale up its teams, products and services to support what it says is a growing content demand from its client base, which includes Canadian animation studio Nelvana, the NFL and US public broadcaster PBS KIDS.
Milne is coming off a three-year stint as chief revenue officer at cyber-security company Field Effect Software, where headed up business development. Prior to that, he co-founded a couple of Canadian companies—educational platform Ebou Learning (2013) and digital service agency bv02 (2002).
Relish’s project portfolio includes no-frills mobile game Hauler Aisles of Glory; CG-animated web series Barbie’s Dreamworld (18 x three minutes) for Mattel; and three seasons of 2D-animated adventure series Treasure X for Moose Toys’ YouTube channel.
The company launched an original interactive storybook mobile game called Weirdwood Manor in 2015. Targeting kids ages three to 14, it follows the adventures of three young sleuths who work together to uncover the dark secret hidden for decades within the manor’s spooky halls. The IP has since expanded with a three-title Thieves of Weirdwood book series, and Relish is currently developing a second mobile game.