Veteran of Illumination, Paramount and Disney
brings over 20 years' experience in production, operations, finance
and strategy
HALIFAX, April 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - DHX Media (or the
"Company") (TSX: DHX, NASDAQ: DHXM) has appointed veteran animation
industry executive Amir Nasrabadi as
Executive Vice President and General Manager of its animation
studio in Vancouver, BC. Mr.
Nasrabadi will be joining the team in this newly created role
effective June 10, 2019, reporting to
Josh Scherba, President. As EVP and
GM of the Vancouver studio, Mr.
Nasrabadi will oversee all animation production at the studio,
leading the Vancouver animation
team in working closely with DHX Media's creative, content and
brands teams.
"As a well-known and respected figure in the animation
community, who brings a wealth of industry experience, Amir is an
ideal executive to lead the talented team at our Vancouver animation studio," said Josh Scherba, President, DHX Media. "We believe
Amir's history as head of Pixar Canada in Vancouver, as well as his time in management
with Illumination, Paramount and Disney will deliver tremendous
value to our business. We couldn't be more delighted that Amir is
coming back to Vancouver, and we
look forward to welcoming him to the DHX Media team."
"Vancouver is such a fantastic
city for animation and I am thrilled to be joining DHX Media to be
part of the exciting work being done at their world-class studio,"
said Mr. Nasrabadi. "I hear the studio is a dog-friendly work space
as well, so my mini-dachshund Dot will fit right in!"
Animation Industry Veteran
Mr. Nasrabadi brings over 20 years' experience in production,
operations, finance and strategy in the animation and visual
effects industry, having held senior roles with some of the world's
top production companies and studios. Most recently, Mr. Nasrabadi
was EVP of Finance and Operations for Illumination, producers of
such global hits as Despicable Me, Minions, The
Grinch and Sing. At Illumination, Mr. Nasrabadi led all
aspects of operations, IT, finance, planning, competitive and
industry analysis, and business development.
Prior to Illumination, Mr. Nasrabadi was SVP of Production at
Paramount Animation, and before Paramount, Mr. Nasrabadi worked for
15 years with The Walt Disney Studios, where he was VP Finance and
Operations for DisneyToon Studios, and then in 2009, launched and
ran Pixar Canada in Vancouver. As
VP and General Manager of Pixar Canada, Mr. Nasrabadi oversaw all
production and represented the Pixar brand to the creative
community, local and provincial government and industry
leaders.
Mr. Nasrabadi started his career with Deloitte & Touche in
1993 as a CPA. He holds a BA in Business Economics from the
University of California at Santa
Barbara.
DHX Media's Vancouver
studio
Dedicated to creating the highest quality animated content that
kids love and parents approve, DHX Media's 75,000 square foot
animation studio in Vancouver is a
state-of-the-art facility employing approximately 500 2D- and
3D-animation professionals. Located in Vancouver's Olympic Village, in the vibrant
Mt. Pleasant neighbourhood, the
five-story facility was custom built by DHX Media and opened in
2017. Staff enjoy a dog-friendly workplace with a rooftop community
garden, a common area with billiard table and table tennis, a
theatre for screening their work (or movie nights!), a resource
library, yoga and bootcamp classes, and daily food truck visits for
lunch.
The studio produced over 1,800 minutes of animated content in
2018, including such series as The Deep, Mega Man: Fully Charged, Carmen Sandiego for Netflix, Peabody
& Sherman and The Adventures of Rocky &
Bullwinkle for DreamWorks, and its first feature film, My
Little Pony: The Movie for Hasbro. The studio team is currently
hard at work on new Peanuts content for Apple, as well as Chip
and Potato for Netflix, Blaze and the Monster Machines
for Nickelodeon, and Dorg Van
Dango for Nickelodeon with Cartoon Saloon.
About DHX Media
DHX Media Ltd. (TSX: DHX, NASDAQ:
DHXM) is a global children's content and brands company, recognized
for such high-profile properties as Peanuts, Teletubbies,
Strawberry Shortcake, Caillou, Inspector Gadget, and the
acclaimed Degrassi franchise. One of the world's foremost
producers of children's shows, DHX Media owns the world's largest
independent library of children's content, at 13,000 half-hours. It
licenses its content to broadcasters and streaming services
worldwide and generates royalties through its global consumer
products program. Through its subsidiary, WildBrain, DHX Media
operates one of the largest networks of children's channels on
YouTube. Headquartered in Canada,
DHX Media has offices worldwide. Visit us at
www.dhxmedia.com.
Disclaimer
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" under
applicable securities laws with respect to DHX Media including,
without limitation, statements regarding the appointment of Mr.
Nasrabadi, Mr. Nasrabadi's role with the Company, expected benefits
therefrom, and the business strategies and operational activities
of the Company. Although the Company 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 to the Company. 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 the ability of the Company to execute
on contracts, production risk and other factors discussed in
materials filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities
from time to time including matters discussed under "Risk Factors"
in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form and annual
Management Discussion and Analysis, which also form part of the
Company's annual report on Form 40-F filed with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are made
as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to
update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances,
except as required by law.
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SOURCE DHX Media Ltd.