For the assorted announcements of executive promotion or hirings, the following article is a partial recap of January 2010. Animation production or distribution companies moving into the new year with a redefined mission statement or continued pursuit of their business strategy pushed headlong into ensuring key positions in domestic home video, overseas production, on-air programming, and more, were occupied. While Comedy Central took a large step in filling in their next programming chief, Cookie Jar finds a development executive, and Turner/Cartoon Network UK fill some key programming positions. Several other companies in the business of producing, marketing, or broadcasting animation follow:
Firstly, Comedy Central has brought back a network veteran to take the helm of its programming unit. Kent Alterman, now Head of Programming for Comedy Central, will oversee all day-to-day operations of original programming, including animation. Also overseeing both the network's east- and west-coast development units, Alterman replaces Lauren Corrao, who left the network toward the end of the previous year. Playing catch-up, Alterman has commented, will be his first priority. Comedy Central's next original animated property, which is rather promising, is Ugly Americans, premiering March 17th, 2010, created by David M. Stern and Devin Clark.
"Comedy Central is a place that I came up from, my formative years were here and I had great time developing shows with talented people like Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert," Alterman stated in an interview. He continued: "I am interested in exploring every area, from animation to [the] shows that aren't funny."
Over at Disney, Lori MacPherson was promoted to the position of Executive Vice President & General Manager of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. The promotion adds on the EVP responsibilities, such as worldwide strategic product management as well as media and digital sell-through content for animated feature films. MacPherson has reportedly been a Disney executive for nearly two decades, and with the added authority will be further guiding the venture through an increasingly difficult North America marketplace that has witnessed tremendous flux and softening in recent years.
Elsewhere, another Disney veteran, Damon Whiteside, will be taking on the responsibility of overseeing global marketing initiatives related to Disney Store North America. Damon Whiteside, now Vice President of Marketing for the retail division, has been with Disney for a dozen years, and will be contributing to the units anticipated store redesign this summer. Previously, Whiteside has worked for Disney Studios in film distribution, over at Disney Music Group, and most recently as the marketing chief for Walt Disney Records.
Based in the area of Sydney, Australia, animation production group Flying Bark Studio has added a Managing Director: Jim Ballantine. The studio works in both hand-drawn and computer media, their most recent work appearing in Zeke's Pad, the first and now second season of the preschool property Dive! Olly, Dive! and coming Winter 2011, Santa's Apprentice, a lovely 2D co-production with Alphanim Animation [A.I. search: "Alphanim"]. Ballantine has previously served management positions with Disney and Nickelodeon, as well as a producer with Jerusalem-based CG group Animation Lab.