- Universal Products & Experiences has upped Jo Pascoe (pictured) to SVP of consumer products in APAC, in order to manage strategy for its direct and agent-managed regions. Pascoe was formerly Universal Brand Development’s VP of consumer products in several markets (including Australia and India), and prior to that she was DreamWorks Animation’s head of licensing for APAC before NBCUniversal acquired DreamWorks in 2016.
- London-based literary agency The Blair Partnership—which lists J .K. Rowling among its roster of children’s, YA and non-fiction book writers—has hired two staffers to grow its business. Simon Johnson, formerly a managing director at Universal Music Group, has joined the agency as chief commercial officer. And former Disney global VP of franchise and partnership development Kiran Jeffrey is the new managing director of the Harry Potter franchise. She’ll use her more than 25 years of experience building franchises at Disney (including Star Wars and Toy Story) to oversee the marketing, product development and international publishing teams for the Potter IP.
- Malaysia’s Lemon Sky Studios has hired former Disney staffer Alexis Wong as business development director for North America and Greater China and tasked her with expanding the company’s strategic partnerships and driving growth in international markets. Founded in 2006, the service studio has partnered with major companies such as Nickelodeon, EA and Disney (What If…?, Playdate with Winnie the Pooh). Wong previously worked in ad sales and partnerships at Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution (2020 to 2021) and as a commercial development lead at Malaysian telecom Astro (2023 to 2025).
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