UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif.,
May 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
Universal Brand Development today announced that it will expand its
strategic focus on games and build an organization to self-publish
its own titles, taking a more direct role in the creative,
development, marketing and distribution of games based on its IP.
To drive this new business initiative, the company announced
the appointment of three new executives: James Molinets, Senior Vice President of
Production; Timothy FitzRandolph,
Vice President of Creative; and Fabian
Schonholz, Senior Vice President of Technology and
Operations. Molinets and Schonholz report to Chris Heatherly, Executive Vice President of
Games and Digital Platforms, Universal Brand Development.
While the initial focus for self-publishing will be on mobile,
Universal plans over time to expand to other platforms. The
first titles from the new publishing effort will launch later this
year. Universal will continue to license its IP,
strategically complimenting its publishing strategy.
"Games have become mainstream entertainment, reaching broad,
global audiences and are quickly growing as a place consumers spend
their time. As one of the largest entertainment companies in
the world, we believe we must have a strong direct presence in
gaming," said Heatherly. "Jim, Tim, and Fabian are some of
the most talented leaders in the industry and evidence of the
all-star team we are building here at Universal."
Molinets most recently served as Vice President, Games at
Disney, where he was responsible for production and general
management of all Disney and Pixar mobile games. Molinets is
a 24-year veteran of the games industry who produced the critically
acclaimed Alice in collaboration with American McGee, and
later oversaw second party development for Sony and third party
development for Disney. FitzRandolph was an early pioneer on mobile
with the indie success, Jelly Car, and later teamed with
Molinets at Disney on the worldwide phenomenon, Where's
My Water, which became a
successful franchise with three sequels, short-form animation,
toys, and other consumer products. Together, they built Disney
Mobile into a leading publisher of mobile games with hits like
Inside Out: Thought Bubbles and Disney Emoji Blitz.
They also oversaw kids' virtual world phenomenon, Club
Penguin, and recently launched a successful mobile successor,
Club Penguin Island.
Schonholz is a seasoned entrepreneur with a focus on "big data"
and cloud services working for companies such as Internet Brands,
where he was VP of Technology; professional photography service
Pictage, where he was Chief Technology Officer; and most recently
analytics innovator NinjaMetrics, where he served at Chief
Operating Officer. As Senior Vice President of Technology and
Operations, he will oversee Universal's cloud-based game publishing
infrastructure with an emphasis on leveraging data to drive value
across the gaming network.
In addition to the new appointments, two Universal gaming
executives are receiving new roles. Bill
Kispert, a Universal veteran of 15 years, moves into a new
strategic position as General Manager of Business Development,
reporting to Heatherly. Additionally, Pete
Wanat has been named Vice President, Production, reporting
to Molinets. Wanat has produced dozens of games both at and prior
to Universal, where he has worked for 16 years. He is known for
producing some of the best regarded games based on movie IP
including Chronicles of Riddick and its sequel, as well as
Scarface: The World Is Yours.
Universal Brand Development's Games and Digital Platforms
business unit creates games and interactive experiences that extend
engagement with the company's franchises on mobile, console, PC and
emerging platforms such as Virtual and Augmented Reality. The
team is also responsible for utilizing NBCUniversal IP through
apps, personalization and digital content.
About Universal Brand Development
Universal Brand
Development globally drives expansion of the company's intellectual
properties, franchises, characters and stories through innovative
physical and digital products, content, and consumer
experiences. Along with franchise brand management, Universal
Brand Development's core businesses include Consumer Products,
Games and Digital Platforms, and Live Entertainment based on the
company's extensive portfolio of intellectual properties created by
Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment, DreamWorks
Animation, and NBCUniversal cable and television. Universal
Brand Development is a business segment of Universal Filmed
Entertainment Group, and part of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA).
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SOURCE Universal Brand Development