Genius Brands promotes Kerry Phelan to Chief Brand Officer

Genius Brands International, Inc. has promoted Kerry Phelan to the newly created position of Chief Brand Officer. "It’s a tremendous privilege for us to have an executive of Kerry’s caliber, with her successful track record of launching some of the most successful brands in entertainment history, from 'Star Wars' to 'Cars,' leading the charge as we continue to launch new IP into the market and rollout existing brands on a global scale,”  CEO of Genius Brands International, Andy Heyward, said.

 As Chief Brand Officer, Phelan will build out strategy points for multiple consumer touchpoints while driving significant incremental revenue for the company. She will be tasked with the overall global brand strategy, consumer products, brand partnerships & collaborations, brand experiences, retail development and more for Genius Brands’ roster of kid’s properties, including "Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten," "Shaq’s Garage," "Stan Lee Universe," and "Rainbow Rangers," among others in development. 

The appointment follows Genius Brands’ acquisitions of Canada’s WOW! Unlimited Media, Inc. (WOW!) and Ameba TV, and major investment in Germany’s Your Family Entertainment (YFE) to build a global footprint, as well as the worldwide rollout of Kartoon Channel!/Kartoon Channel! Kidaverse. As the company has expanded significantly over the past year with multiple acquisitions, her role has also enlargeened to include global brand building across all Genius Brands’ businesses. “Genius Brands is experiencing its most significant growth to date with our slate of acquisitions further bolstering our content catalogue and giving us a greater worldwide footprint, and we are in a solid position to take our company to the next level and achieve our goals of delivering quality children’s franchise to the marketplace and revenue to our shareholders," Heyward continued.

Phelan began her tenure with the company in July 2021 as Executive Vice President & General Manager of Global Franchise Management after serving for 30 years in consumer products & retail executive roles at studios, including  Lucasfilm Ltd., Dreamworks Animation and Pixar, building global campaigns for multi-billion dollar brands, including the "Star Wars" and "Cars" franchises, as well as "Shrek,"  "Kung Fu Panda," and "Madagascar," among various others. She is credited with launching the Star Wars brand at LEGO Systems Inc and leading the global consumer products & promotional licensing business for the multi-billion-dollar Star Wars franchise in over 60 countries worldwide for Lucasfilm Ltd. She has also worked for Pixar Animation Studios and Dreamworks, among various other notbale companies.

“In less than a year of joining Genius Brands, I am excited to be a part of a company that is leading the charge in the kid’s space to deliver innovative, purpose-driven brands to the marketplace while building a global platform to reach kids anywhere, anytime with quality content. It is truly amazing to be a part of the team at Genius Brands and to play a role in the growth of the company, and I look forward to the years ahead as we continue to build our brands and platform on a global scale,” said Phelan.