Canada’s Shaftesbury has named Ryan St. Peters as VP of its growing kids and family operations, with a remit that will now see him lead all creative and commercial activities, including content development, production and distribution.

St. Peters will kick off in the new role by focusing on two new live-action titles that are currently in development—Super Duper Deelia from writer/creator Laura Vandervoort (Bitten, Smallville); and Space Bacon, a real-time motion-capture sitcom from showrunners John May and Suzanne Bolch that stars a pair of teens who work in a space-themed diner with aliens.

St. Peters will also be focusing on growing the division’s Canadian output, building on the success of Shaftesbury shows Life with Derek, Overruled!, Connor Undercover and Baxter. 

His appointment comes just as the company heads to market with its first preschool property, The Moblees, which is set to debut at MIP Junior this weekend. The 30 x 11-minute live-action series was developed with Canadian pubcaster CBC, and targets kids ages three to six.

Having joined Shaftesbury in 2005 as a sales rep, St. Peters has grown into increasingly senior roles at the company, including director of sales in 2012, and VP of sales and business development in 2013. He is chiefly responsible for selling the company’s kids programming into 120 regions worldwide.

St. Peters will be based out of the Toronto office, working closely with Shaftesbury’s L.A.-based unit.