Italian prodco Rainbow has appointed Rick Mischel as the CEO of Vancouver-based service animation company Bardel Entertainment.

Prior to taking the reins at Bardel, Mischel served as a producer at Sony Pictures Animation for four years, working on projects such as the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs TV series for Cartoon Network and the Hotel Transylvania TV series for Disney Channel. Previously, Mischel was SVP of satellite production at Sony Pictures Imageworks and also served as EVP of animation and interactive services at Technicolor.

With Mischel appointed CEO, Rainbow also announced that Bardel founders Delna Bhesania and Barry Ward are exiting the company this year. No timelines were announced.

Bardel, which has studios in Vancouver and Kelowna, BC and employs more than 500, has made a name for itself working with companies such as Disney, DreamWroks and Nickelodeon.

Rainbow, home to the billion-dollar Winx Club franchise, acquired the animation service provider back in 2015. The two companies are currently at work on their first project together, 44 Cats. The CGI preschool series will premiere in Germany on Super RTL in 2019.

From Kidscreen