Thunderbird Entertainment Group, which has offices in Vancouver, Ottawa, London and Los Angeles, has named Matthew Berkowitz as CCO of Thunderbird Entertainment and Atomic Cartoons, as well as appointing Kristin Cummings and Aaron Behl to the joint position of VP, originals at Atomic. All three executives will be based in L.A.

In his new position, Berkowitz (pictured), who previously served as VP originals at Atomic, will oversee all IP development, production and acquisitions across both Thunderbird and Atomic. He first joined Atomic in 2016 when it opened its L.A. office, leading the animation company’s international production structure. As CCO, he will guide Thunderbird’s long-term strategy to focus on the expansion and development of its IP library, read a statement.

Meanwhile, Cummings and Behl will take over Berkowitz’s previous post. Working together, both Cummings and Behl will lead Atomic’s kids and family portfolios, in addition to the company’s new adult animation slate.

Cummings is a former director of development at NBCUniversal and DreamWorks Animation, who has collaborated on a range of projects, including the upcoming Netflix preschool series Rhyme Time Town. Meanwhile, Behl joined Atomic in early 2018 as director of development. Since then he has worked on Atomic’s upcoming Netflix series The Last Kids on Earth, among other projects.

Earlier this year, Atomic announced it had struck a worldwide licensing agreement with Paris-based Cyber Group Studios for The Last Kids on Earth. Atomic first optioned Max Brailler and illustrator Doug Holgate’s book series about a group of middle school kids who battle zombies in 2017.

Image of Berkowitz courtesy of Atomic