Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc (TSX-V:TBRD, OTCQX:THBRF) has announced that Matthew Berkowitz has been promoted to president in addition to his current role as chief creative officer.
In a statement, the company said Berkowitz will oversee the development, production, distribution, and acquisitions of intellectual properties (IP) across all Thunderbird Entertainment productions.
The productions include those from the Kids and Family Division (Atomic Cartoons), Factual Division (Great Pacific Media), and additional scripted productions, such as the upcoming Reginald The Vampire (working title) for Syfy.
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The company said Berkowitz will be instrumental to Thunderbird's long-term growth strategy, which involves spearheading M&A initiatives for the company, and further expanding IP opportunities for each division, thereby growing Thunderbird’s content library.
Thunderbird said it currently has 27 shows in production (including both owned IP and service projects), for major streaming organizations and traditional broadcasters such as Netflix, Disney, Peacock, Apple, PBS, Bell Media’s Discovery, Corus Entertainment, and the CBC, among others.
While serving as CCO of Thunderbird and Atomic Cartoons, and as an executive producer on various Atomic productions, including winning an Emmy award for The Last Kids on Earth, the company said Berkowitz will be based in the Los Angeles (LA) studio, providing oversight to each of Thunderbird’s four locations (Vancouver, LA, Ottawa, and Toronto), and the team of more than 1,400 people.
Alongside his role at Thunderbird and Atomic, Berkowitz is also a producer on the animated feature film Extinct, directed by David Silverman, who also directed The Simpsons Movie. Extinct was recently released on Netflix, and theatrically released in various territories earlier this year.
“Matthew has an exceptional creative eye for identifying and producing successful content. This, combined with his strategic vision for growth and ability to foster great partnerships has made him invaluable to our team. I feel incredibly lucky to have worked alongside Matt for the last five years and we are thrilled to promote him to President of Thunderbird,” said Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO of Thunderbird Entertainment and its Kids and Family Division, Atomic Cartoons.
Thunderbird Entertainment also announced the following promotions, hires, and new teams in the Kids and Family Division, Atomic Cartoons:
- Nadine Westerbarkey has been promoted from Head of 2D Animation to the role of Studio Creative Director
- Carl Upsdell has been promoted from Series Director to Head of 2D Animation
- Andrew Egiziano joined Atomic Cartoons as Vice President of Production, Los Angeles
And in the Factual Division, Great Pacific Media, and Thunderbird Scripted:
- Tony Chung has been promoted from Director of Finance to Senior Vice President, Finance and Corporate Affairs
- Lindsay Macadam has been promoted from Head of Scripted Development to Senior Vice President, Content and Business Development
- Ed de Rivaz has been promoted from Creative Director to Senior Vice President, Development
Thunderbird’s Kids and Family Division, Atomic Cartoons, also announced that it has established a Current Series Team, which provides dedicated creative oversight at an executive level as projects transition from development into production. Brady Serwitz, who recently joined the company following an extended tenure at Marvel Animation, will serve as Director, Current Series; Catie Carducci, who played a key role in The Last Kids on Earth franchise development, will serve as Manager, Current Series.
“We are grateful to be a part of this booming entertainment industry and focus all our efforts to create programming that can hopefully inspire audiences around the world. Our Company’s success is rooted in its people, and I’m truly honored to grow with and learn from the many talented individuals across Thunderbird who create the extraordinary content we see on the screen,” said Berkowitz.
“We are delighted to further support our content endeavors by establishing Thunderbird’s Global Distribution and Consumer Products Division spearheaded by industry veteran Richard Goldsmith earlier this year, as well as a new Current Series team at Atomic Cartoons. We see no ceiling to the opportunities ahead,” he added.
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