LA’s Stampede Ventures has appointed Anna Berthhold-Zuk as its first-ever EVP of animation and kids & family. Berthhold-Zuk joins from UTA, where she worked as a motion picture literary agent for 11 years, in addition to helping to launch UTA Animation in 2017.

Reporting to president Chris Bosco in her new position, Berthhold-Zuk will be responsible for growing Stampede’s presence in the kids and family market. Her relationship with the company dates back to 2021, when she co-founded HappyNest Entertainment as an animation-focused franchise incubator that’s jointly run by Stampede and UTA.

Her remit also includes working closely with HappyNest. And she will continue working with select UTA clients on various projects in the pipeline under the Stampede umbrella.

Charged with strategizing ways to help the company tackle challenges facing the kids content business, Berthhold-Zuks says: “Now more than ever, the kids and family sector is breaking free from conventional distribution and franchise-building norms. Stampede [is] poised to pioneer new approaches to financing and production.” 

The company is particularly keen on ramping up creator-driven projects. HappyNest, for instance, recently teamed with Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media shingle to produce a Paris & Pups animated series based on Hilton’s real-life pets. And Hidden Pigeon Co. has been on a hiring spree to support the development of Willems’ books into broader franchises, recently signing Retail Monster as its global licensing agent.

Image courtesy of Sandra On.

Updated at 6:41 PM on May 31, 2024

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Berthhold-Zuk’s remit includes working with Hidden Pigeon Co. The story has since been corrected: Berthhold-Zuk will only be working with HappyNest.

Karen Miller as CEO of Hidden Pigeon Co continues to oversee the company and Sadaf Cohen Muncy continues to oversee HappyNest.