WildBrain has promoted Josh Scherba to the dual role of president and CEO, replacing Eric Ellenbogen, who has stepped down from his position as CEO and vice chair.

The Toronto-headquartered kids and family entertainment company has also appointed Jim Fielding, chief marketing and brands officer, to the position of strategic advisor to the CEO and board of directors, which now also includes Scherba, according to a news release.

During the transition period, Fielding will maintain oversight of the company’s franchise and marketing functions, and work with Scherba and the board to implement new leadership, said the release.

Scherba has been with WildBrain (previously known as DHX Media) since its founding in 2006 and was appointed president in 2018. He’s “built strong, long-term relationships with numerous major partners, including Apple TV+, Netflix, Amazon, SEGA, YouTube, the BBC, LEGO, Mattel and many others,” said the release.

Scherba most recently spearheaded WildBrain’s agreement to acquire Toronto-based pre-production animation studio House of Cool.

Ellenbogen had renewed his contract for another three years in August 2022.

“For the past several years, Eric helped transform WildBrain, working with Josh and the management team on a phase of investment and building to create a unified 360-degree infrastructure across content production, audience engagement and global licensing,” a spokesperson for the company tells Playback Daily.

“With that phase completed, WildBrain’s board felt that the time was right for new leadership to take the company forward into the next phase of execution and to accelerate the growth of key brands.”

Scherba has “played an integral role in setting and implementing WildBrain’s 360-degree strategy, and has been a driving force behind all aspects of the company’s highly successful content business,” Don Wright, chair of WildBrain’s board of directors, said in a statement.

“We’re confident Josh has the right combination of strategic vision, deep industry expertise and operational insights to take WildBrain forward into this next phase of growth.”

That next phase will involve building on the company’s strategy of monetization of kids and family IP in the international market, added Wright.

Scherba said they’ll have “a renewed focus on key franchises to drive profitability for the long-term success of the business and enhance value for shareholders.” He also thanked Ellenbogen “for his important leadership over the past several years in the strategic transformation of WildBrain.”

“Eric has helped reshape the company, setting it on a renewed path of sustainable growth and positioning it for a successful future,” said Scherba. “During his tenure, he elevated the company’s commitment to creative excellence and expanded its global reach by implementing a unified 360-degree strategy across the organization, rebranding the company, and assembling a top management team.”

Ellenbogen said he feels he’s leaving the company “in a much stronger position” than he found it and has “every confidence that Josh is the right person to continue on the path we set together for WildBrain’s future.”

Before joining WildBrain as an executive, Fielding worked with the company as a consultant and developed the current growth strategy for its Peanuts brand. He’s also provided strategic and operational counsel across WildBrain’s key brands, which also include Teletubbies and Strawberry Shortcake.

Fielding has held leadership roles at top retailers, including as former president of Disney Stores Worldwide, and led “consumer-products groups at the world’s top media companies, including Disney, DreamWorks and Twentieth Century Fox,” said the release.

The changes at the top come as WildBrain reports its financial results for Q3 2023. The company reported a total revenue of $140.9 million for the quarter, a 9% year-over-year increase compared to $129.5 million in Q3 2022.

The company said a strong quarter for live action production led to an increase in its content production and distribution revenue, which came to $71.5 million in Q3 2023, a 24% increase from $57.4 million in Q3 2022.

Consumer products revenue held steady at $50.9 million in Q3 2023, the same figure reported in the previous year’s quarter.

The revenue gains were slightly offset by the company’s digital media division, WildBrain Spark, which reported $9.1 million for Q3, down 15% compared to $10.7 million in Q3 2022. “The segment remains impacted by softer advertising revenue due to macroeconomic headwinds,” said the release.

Photo courtesy of WildBrain