Having just launched in September 2006 to set its key book property Geronimo Stilton on the road to TV, Milan-based Atlantyca Entertainment has made two key appointments. Chair Pietro Marietti has tapped Claudia Mazzucco as CEO and Caterina Vacchi as senior manager and executive producer. Both had most recently been at publishing house Edizioni Piemme, previously owned by Marietti.

In her new role, Mazzucco is charged with creating new business opps for Atlantyca’s catalogue of book properties in production, licensing and foreign rights sales. And Vacchi, who’s now responsible for overseeing development and production, is currently working with co-pro partners 9 Story Entertainment and Moonscoop Productions to transition Geronimo’s adventures from page to screen in a planned 26 x 24-minute animated series.

First published in 2000, Geronimo Stilton books have sold more than 14 million copies in Italy alone and have been translated into 29 different languages.