Paris-based digital animation studio Animaj, which owns children’s IPs including Pocoyo, has appointed kids’ exec Olivier Dumont as an independent member of its board of directors.
Animaj said the appointment comes as it expands beyond “acquiring iconic children’s IPs to increasingly originating its own original properties.”
With more than 30 years of experience in the kids and family sector, Dumont was most recently president of Hasbro Entertainment, a role he stepped down from last year, as revealed by C21.
Dumont spent 13 years as president of family brands at Entertainment One (eOne) from 2010, working on IP including Peppa Pig, PJ Masks, Transformers and My Little Pony. When eOne was acquired by US toy giant Hasbro in 2020, it sold the Canadian company to Lionsgate three years later and launched its own production arm Hasbro Entertainment. Dumont remained with Hasbro as president of Hasbro Entertainment.
Before joining eOne, Dumont was MD of German animation company TV Toonland. He was also previously MD of French animation studio SIP Animation and head of acquisitions and coproductions at French pay TV channel Canal J.
The France-born exec began his career at Lagardere’s Europe Images International in 1993 as head of business affairs and coproductions. He is also founder and CEO of PJ Masks producer Frog Box, which he launched in 2005.
“Kids’ entertainment is undergoing a structural shift,” said Sixte de Vauplane, CEO of Animaj. “The winners of the next decade won’t be the companies that simply own IP, but those that know how to create franchises natively for digital platforms. Olivier has been behind some of the most successful kids’ brands of the past 30 years and his perspective is exactly what we need as we scale the next wave.”