Acclaim Entertainment (Glen Cove, New York, 516-656-5000): Barry Jafrato has been named managing director of European publishing at the software developing and publishing company. He will be based out of the London office.

Activision (Santa Monica, California, 310-255-2000): Kathy Vrabeck joins the video game company as executive VP of global brand management.

American Champion Entertainment (San Jose, California, 408-288-8199): Mae Lyn Woo has been promoted to COO of the company. She was most recently VP and CFO.

Applause (Woodland Hills, California, 818-992-6000): Pat Pattison comes on board the entertainment and gift specialty company as VP of licensing and promotion. Applause’s licensors include Disney, Warner Bros., CTW, Nickelodeon and LucasFilm. Its classic licensed merch includes characters from Sesame Street and Looney Tunes, as well as current lines from Star Wars: Episode I and Disney’s Tarzan. Pattison was most recently president of Burbank-based PromoToys.

Artisan Home Entertainment (Santa Monica, California, 310-449-9200): Palmer Brown has been promoted to marketing director of DVD and special markets from his position as West Coast sales director.

Bandai America (Cypress, California, 714-816-9500): Brian Goldner has been upped to executive VP and COO from his position as executive VP of sales and marketing.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Burbank, California, 818-295-5200): Alfred Hoffmann is the new marketing director. He will be responsible for marketing in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Carlton Television (London, England, 44-171-486-6688): Michael Foster has been named to the new position of managing director of content.

The Cartoon Network (Atlanta, Georgia, 404-885-2263): James Porges has been promoted to VP of off-channel commerce. He will be responsible for managing Cartoon Network’s characters, including The Powerpuff Girls and Johnny Bravo.

Children’s Television Workshop (New York, New York, 212-595-3456): Peggy Byrd joins CTW in the new position of VP of corporate sponsorship and development. She will be responsible for securing sponsorship for Sesame Street. Rosemarie Truglio has been upped to VP of research from her post as director of research. Barbara Herzinger has been promoted to regional VP of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Herzinger will manage all licensing and TV activities in the regions, including new business ventures and local co-productions. She was most recently assistant VP of international licensing in Asia and Latin America.

Columbia TriStar International Television (Culver City, California, 310-244-4000): Jon Petrovich has been appointed to the new position of executive VP of international channels. He will be responsible for worldwide sales, marketing and distribution for international channels in Asia, Europe and Latin America. Petrovich was most recently president of Turner Broadcasting System, Latin America. Annie Morita has been promoted to senior VP of sales and marketing from her job as VP of channels marketing.

Columbia TriStar Television (Los Angeles, California, 310-202-1234): Jeanie Bradley has been promoted to executive VP of programming, where she will continue to manage the drama and comedy slate. Bradley previously served as senior VP of the division.

Destination Films (Santa Monica, California, 310-434-2700): Rachel Cadden joins the production, financing and distribution company as VP of national promotions. rachelcadden@destinationfilms.com

Digital Entertainment Network (Santa Monica, California, 310-998-9200): Morgan Wandell heads up the Internet Gen Y entertainment network. He was most recently creative affairs director at Touchstone Television.

Discovery Networks (Bethesda, Maryland, 301-986-1999): Carmen Hiers has been named director of communications at Discovery Networks, Latin America/Iberia, based out of the Miami office. She will handle publicity for Discovery channels, including Discovery Kids and Animal Planet.

Disney/ABC Cable Networks (New York, New York, 212-456-7777): Rich Ross has been upped to GM and executive VP of programming and production from his previous position as senior VP of programming and production. Eleo Hensleigh has also been promoted to executive VP of marketing from her position as senior VP of marketing at Disney Channel and Disney/ABC Cable Networks.

Fox Kids Europe (London, England,

44-171-554-9005): Boel Ferguson heads up the Scandinavian division as GM, where she will be responsible for program localization, scheduling and on-air promotions. Ase Ytreland has been upped to director of network development at the Scandinavian division. Simon Gate takes on the new job of director of new media and corporate development of Fox Kids Europe. Marina Williams has been appointed managing director of Central and Eastern Europe, and Tatjana Vucanovic has been promoted to director of network development of the same region.

Griffin Bacal (New York, New York, 212-415-2901): Joan Chiaramonte has been appointed director of strategic planning. Chiaramonte was most recently VP of Roper Starch’s syndicated services division, and headed the Roper Youth Report. Griffin Bacal’s clients include Hasbro and Mott’s.

Harcourt Trade Publishers (San Diego, California, 619-699-6851): Kira Glass moves to the new position of director of interactive marketing from her previous job as director of marketing for children’s books. Lori Benton joins the company as director of marketing for children’s books from her previous position as associate marketing director at William Morrow.

HBO Latin America Group (Miami, Florida, 305-266-7763): Emilio Rubio has been named senior VP of operations, overseeing all marketing, sales and communications endeavors for the company.

HIT Entertainment USA (Beverly Hills, California, 310-724-8979): Dorian Langdon has been upped to president of the American arm of London-based HIT Entertainment. Langdon is responsible for licensing HIT’s programming to the U.S. and Canada, as well as overseeing local acquisitions and development.

New Line Home Video (New York, New York, 212-649-4900): Donald Evans is the director of DVD and sell-through marketing.

Nickelodeon (New York, New York, 212-258-7500): Chris Linn has been upped to VP of production operations from his position as senior director of production management. Nickelodeon International is expanding its Global Network Ventures with Katrina Southon as senior director of network operations and programming of the division. Christine Leo-McKerrow is taking up the post of director of marketing and communications of GNV, and Andrew Struse is now the creative director. Sal Maniaci has been upped to VP of current series, East Coast.

Portfolio Entertainment (Toronto, Canada, 416-483-9773): Lila Rose joins the prodco as head of development.

Saban Entertainment (Los Angeles, California, 310-235-5100): Frank Keating has been upped to VP of consumer products and marketing, where he will develop marketing strategies for Saban properties such as Power Rangers, Nascar Racers and The Addams Family. Robin Altman and Cindy Davis have been named directors of licensing and merchandising, and David Bernstein has been upped to manager of retail development.

Sony Pictures Consumer Products (Los Angeles, California, 310-244-4000): Mark Caplan has been upped to director of domestic licensing from his job as senior account manager. New appointments include Yvonne Soderberg as director of marketing and brand management, Dori Grizzard as director of retail sales and promotions, and Françoise Ravel as manager of contract administration.

Sony Pictures Family Entertainment Group (Santa Monica, California, 310-840-7864): Gary Hirsch has been appointed senior VP and GM of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s newly named kid division. Hirsch was most recently senior VP of business affairs at Columbia Pictures.

SPI International (New York, New York, 212-673-5103): Clara Goncalves has been named manager of Brazilian sales.

THQ (Calabasas, California, 818-591-1310): Peter Dille comes on board the gameco team as VP of marketing. Dille was formerly senior director of product marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment of America, where he worked on the launch of Sony PlayStation.

Toonz Animation India (Trivandrum, Kerala, India, 91-471-416-929): Bill Dennis has been named CEO and president of the animation production studio. Dennis was most recently CEO of RM/USL Studios in Bombay and Singapore.

Warner Bros. (Burbank, California, 818-954-6000): L. Janine Jones has been upped to director of current programming from VP of prime-time series. Michael Clements comes on board as VP of current programming. He was most recently director of comedy development at Fox in L.A.

WonderGroup (Cincinnati, Ohio, 513-357-2950): Peter Lloyd has been named chief creative officer of the marketing and licensing firm that specializes in the youth market. Clients include Heinz, Smucker’s, Chiquita, Trolli Candies and ToyMax International.

Girls can cybershop till they drop at Girl Games’ subsidiary PlanetGirl.com

Nancie S. Martin is no newbie to the teen girl market. The former director of on-line content at Mattel has also written four books for teens and was a writer and editor for Tiger Beat and Seventeen. Now she heads up another Web position as president of L.A.-based PlanetGirl.com.

The two-year-old subsidiary of Austin, Texas-based Girl Games relaunched at the end of last month with e-commerce capabilities, in keeping with the demo’s rep as shop-a-holics. ‘We recognize that teen girls are active and enthusiastic consumers,’ Martin says, ‘who represent the majority of teens on the Web.’ The company has come up with a neat way to circumvent the problem of girl shoppers who lack a credit card. ‘We know how girls love to shop, but haven’t been able to do that on-line,’ Martin says. Girl Dollars lets them do just that. It’s a credit system designed for girls under 18 who want to purchase products on-site. PlanetGirl.com has teamed up with a banking partner (the company name was not released at press time) to devise the system that functions like a debit card. Martin points out that girl shoppers must have parental approval before spending their Girl Dollars.

Merch available includes original brand Indie Girl (a line of sportswear). The site is in the process of partnering with other companies to offer a full line of girl-oriented products from CDs and videos to books, clothes and accessories. One new addition is The Ultimate Closet, where girls can put together an outfit and e-mail it to a friend to get a virtual trip-to-the-mall experience, complete with the reactions of fellow shopping buddies.

But Martin stresses that PlanetGirl.com isn’t just for virtual mall rats. She calls it the premier on-line network for girls, combining social interaction with consumerism. Girls, for example, can post their own poetry on the site and may submit movie and book reviews. There is a chat function and a games area as well. Martin says 50% of the site content is generated by users. ‘What we’re doing at PlanetGirl.com is creating a new space for girls to be and providing a focal point for their interaction on-line,’ Martin says.

Please send your people news (including the person’s photo and e-mail address)

to Kate Barker at KidScreen, People in New Jobs, 366 Adelaide St. West, Suite 500, Toronto, Ont., Canada, M5V 1R9; fax: 416-408-0870; e-mail: kbarker@brunico.com.