Hasbro has unveiled the leadership of its new Hasbro Entertainment division, which will start work after the toyco completes the sale of eOne’s film and TV business to Lionsgate.
Olivier Dumont (pictured left), eOne’s president of family brands, leads the division as president. Dumont is the mastermind behind Hasbro and eOne’s major kids brands, such as PJ Masks and Peppa Pig, which drive a US$2 billion annual retail sales business, according to Hasbro in a news release.
Zev Foreman (pictured middle, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves), eOne’s president of film production, will be its head of film, and eOne’s co-head of scripted development, Gabriel Marano (pictured right, Lucifer) will be Hasbro Entertainment’s head of TV. Foreman and Marano were already focused on Hasbro IPs while at eOne and their new Hasbro jobs will expand on that, said the release.
Hasbro Entertainment is developing, financing and producing more than 30 projects, with Dungeons & Dragons, Transformers, G.I. Joe, NERF, Play-Doh, Magic: The Gathering, Peppa Pig and My Little Pony as its priorities. Upcoming titles include animated feature film Transformers One, and a live-action Dungeons & Dragons series for Paramount+. It also has a slate of existing animated series, including Peppa Pig, Transformers: EarthSpark and Kiya and the Kimoja Heroes.
“Gabe, Zev, and I look forward to working with the industry’s best creative talent, studios, and distribution platforms to push the envelope with innovative storytelling that will let fans engage with their favorite brands like never before, while also building exciting new worlds and the next wave of Hasbro franchises for a growing audience,” says Dumont.
The new entertainment division is part of the company’s broader Hasbro Blueprint 2.0 strategy, which is all about investing in its priority brands. Hasbro first announced Hasbro Entertainment at the beginning of August during its Q2 earnings call.
“Audiences can count on Hasbro to keep creating compelling and fun entertainment that brings to life our wide array of iconic brands, including Peppa Pig, My Little Pony, and Transformers,” said Tim Kilpin, Hasbro’s president of its toy, licensing and entertainment business. Kilpin, a former Disney and Mattel exec, joined Hasbro in April with the remit to, like Hasbro Entertainment, grow the company’s franchises, such as Peppa Pig and Dungeons & Dragons.
This story originally appeared in Kidscreen
Photos courtesy of Hasbro