Genius Brands International Expands Executive Team With Appointment of Jon Ollwerther as Vice President of Business Development
Company’s Strategic Management Expansion Plan Driven by Global Content Demand
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Jan. 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Continuing to expand its management team to support global growth, Genius Brands International (“Genius Brands”) (NASDAQ: GNUS) has appointed tech media visionary Jon Ollwerther to the post of Vice President, Business Development. The appointment was announced today by Chairman and CEO Andy Heyward, to whom he will report.
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As VP of Business Development Ollwerther has been given a broad mandate to drive value across all areas of Genius Brands, complementing and augmenting the efforts of the company’s senior management team comprised of General Counsel & SVP of Business Affairs Michael Jaffa; CFO Robert Denton; Head of Global Distribution Natalie Setton; VP of Domestic Content Distribution & President of Kid Genius Cartoon Channel Deb Pierson; and SVP of Global Consumer Products Lloyd Mintz.
“Having known Jon for many years now, the sheer amount of energy, and wealth of knowledge and expertise in marrying technology with entertainment that he brings to the table in his new role will be instrumental in identifying fresh and unique opportunities for reaching and engaging consumers,” explained Heyward. “Working in collaboration with our strong senior management team, we’re poised to take our worldwide operation to the next level.”
“The majority of my career has been with venture backed start-ups,” added Ollwerther. “That said, I’ve known Mr. Heyward and many of his senior staff for the better part of a decade. I am thrilled to be working with the forward thinking and visionary team that he has attracted to Genius Brands and am excited to help drive the myriad possibilities for growing every aspect of its business.”
Ollwerther joins Genius Brands from Measure, the nation's leading Drone as a Service® company. As Vice President of Media, Ollwerther grew the Arts & Entertainment division from its inception and worked with leading media companies and advertisers like ABC, CBS, ESPN, Red Bull Media House, Coach, Prada, Maker's Mark, and Nissan.
As a trailblazer in an emerging industry, Ollwerther focused on leveraging drones as a tool for artistic expression and informational use, including major franchise films to live concerts and events. Among other accomplishments, he pioneered live broadcasting via drone for news and sports and spearheaded the first live drone network broadcasts in America, and helped bring drone light shows to life. Working with clients across the country and around the world, Ollwerther has an extensive credit list of collaborations with brands and advertising agencies to create unforgettable experiences. Prior to joining Measure, Ollwerther was the COO of a national drone service company based in NYC.
About Genius Brands International
Headquartered in Beverly Hills, Genius Brands International, Inc. (NASDAQ:GNUS) is a leading global kids media company developing, producing, marketing and licensing branded children’s entertainment properties and consumer products for media and retail distribution. The Company’s “content with a purpose” brand portfolio, which is led by award-winning creators and producers, includes preschool properties Rainbow Rangers for Nick Jr. and Llama Llama for Netflix; award-winning toddler brand, Baby Genius; adventure comedy STEM series, Thomas Edison's Secret Lab; and financial literacy and entrepreneurship series, Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club. The Company’s content catalog also includes the animated series, Stan Lee's Cosmic Crusaders, created with Stan Lee's Pow! Entertainment. Seeing the need to provide kids and parents with a safe viewing environment that offers premium enriching and engaging programming, Genius Brands launched the Genius Brands Network – comprised of Kid Genius Cartoon Channel and Baby Genius TV, as well as an exclusive Kid Genius Cartoons Plus subscription channel on Amazon Prime. The Network channels are available in approximately 80 million U.S. households via a variety of distribution platforms, such as OTT, set-top box, internet, and mobile. Through licensing agreements with category leading partners, characters from the Company’s properties also appear on a wide range of consumer products for retail. For additional information, please visit www.gnusbrands.com.
THREE.SIXTY MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Michelle Orsi
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/072d0722-1646-40b9-afa6-6e7d81dd97bc
Released January 17, 2019