Tim Erickson Appointed Head of Peanuts Worldwide
Former Disney, DreamWorks and Twentieth Century Fox executive to drive strategy and growth of Peanuts' licensing business
NEW YORK, July 20, 2021 /CNW/ - Peanuts Worldwide is pleased to announce that the highly accomplished consumer products and brand executive Tim Erickson has been named Executive Vice President of Brand, Peanuts Worldwide. Erickson will oversee the seasoned professionals at Peanuts Worldwide who manage the brand's global licensing business. Working together with the family of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, WildBrain's content and management teams and brand co-owners Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), Erickson will be responsible for sustaining a strategy true to the great heritage of the Peanuts brand – opening new licensing, partnership and retail opportunities, supporting brand marketing, and leveraging new content launches – all to expand the global presence of the Peanuts brand and build momentum towards its 75th anniversary in 2025. Based in New York, Erickson reports to Eric Ellenbogen, CEO of WildBrain, the majority owner of Peanuts.
Ellenbogen said: "I'm delighted that Tim has joined the team at this important moment for the Peanuts brand. The response to our original series The Snoopy Show and Snoopy in Space on Apple TV+ and to our 'Take Care With Peanuts' initiative has been nothing short of fantastic. With lots more new content rolling out worldwide in the coming years in partnership with Apple TV+, the Peanuts gang has never been more popular. Working in tandem with our Peanuts content team, Tim will bring a breadth of experience at the intersection of family entertainment and consumer products that makes him the ideal person to lead the evergreen Peanuts licensing business."
Erickson said: "As a lifelong Peanuts fan, I'm elated to join Peanuts Worldwide. I've long admired Charles Schulz's storytelling, both personally and professionally, so I look forward to engaging with the team and our partners to continue telling meaningful Peanuts stories through content, products and experiences that will engage fans for generations to come. I'm so excited about the opportunity to connect the Peanuts content pipeline with fan engagement around the world."
Erickson brings over 20 years of experience in consumer products and brand building, having worked for such notable media and IP companies as Twentieth Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney and LEGO. He most recently held the position of Chief Operating Officer at the media company GoldieBlox, creating innovative STEM-focused brand experiences for girls through consumer products, retail and storytelling, as well as overseeing the company's business development and operations. Prior to GoldieBlox, as Senior Vice President of Global Licensing and Operations at Twentieth Century Fox, Erickson was head of the global merchandise licensing business where he drove double-digit growth across the company's film and television brands. Before that, Erickson held the position of Global Head of Licensing & Operations at DreamWorks, expanding the company's global merchandise licensing business to realize triple-digit growth. At DreamWorks, Erickson was part of the team that launched and accelerated the highly acclaimed film and TV franchises Trolls, Spirit and How to Train Your Dragon. Prior to DreamWorks, Erickson spent several years driving consumer products and sales strategies at Disney and LEGO.
For more information, please contact:
Melissa Menta, 212-293-8506, [email protected]
About Peanuts
The characters of Peanuts and related intellectual property are owned by Peanuts Worldwide, which is 41% owned by WildBrain Ltd. (TSX: WILD), 39% owned by Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and 20% owned by the family of Charles M. Schulz, who first introduced the world to Peanuts in 1950, when the comic strip debuted in seven newspapers. Since then, Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang have made an indelible mark on popular culture. In addition to enjoying beloved Peanuts shows and specials on Apple TV+, fans of all ages celebrate the Peanuts brand worldwide through thousands of consumer products, as well as amusement park attractions, cultural events, social media, and comic strips available in all formats, from traditional to digital. In 2018, Peanuts partnered with NASA on a multi-year Space Act Agreement designed to inspire a passion for space exploration and STEM among the next generation of students
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" under applicable securities laws with respect to WildBrain and its subsidiary Peanuts Worldwide, including, without limitation, statements regarding the business strategies and operational activities of WildBrain and its subsidiary Peanuts Worldwide and results therefrom. Although WildBrain believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on information currently available. Actual results or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations, among other things, include risk factors discussed in materials filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time, including matters discussed under "Risk Factors" in WildBrain's most recent Annual Information Form and annual Management Discussion and Analysis. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and WildBrain assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.
SOURCE Peanuts Worldwide
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