NEWS

Moonbug continues expansion with senior appointments

Published on: 14th September 2022

Three new faces will join the expanding Moonbug Licensing and Merchandising team in newly created senior roles.

Suzanne Larkin

Moonbug Entertainment, a Candle Media Company, has announced the appointment of Suzanne Larkin to lead Softlines EMEA and Australia New Zealand, Samar Selby to lead FMCG in EMEA and ANZ, whilst Duncan Hamilton is appointed to lead Publishing and New Business Development EMEA and ANZ.

These three newly created roles come as a result of Moonbug’s Licensing and Merchandising team’s expansion. All roles report to Francesca Romana Gianesin, head of Consumer Products EMEA & ANZ and are based in the UK.

In her new role, Suzanne Larkin is responsible for building the Fashion & Home Licensing business in EMEA & ANZ. Prior to Moonbug, she held various senior positions at The Walt Disney Company. Most recently, Suzanne was director, Product Design and Development EMEA Softlines, where she oversaw the EMEA fashion and home design development team, following a role as director, Softlines Category EMEA.

Samar Selby

Samar Selby joins Moonbug to build the FMCG licensing and merchandise business. This will include developing strategic plans, identifying new business opportunities across the brand portfolio and building relationships with FMCG partners in EMEA & ANZ. Samar brings a wealth of knowledge to the role with over a decade of experience in licensed consumer products. Prior to Moonbug, she was part of the FMCG EMEA team at The Walt Disney Company, and also held the position of commercial manager, Toys and Stationary, UK and Eire.

Duncan Hamilton will lead and develop the EMEA & ANZ publishing business, bringing the collaboration with current and new licensees to the next level, focusing on geographical scale, new channels and format innovation. He will also be responsible for New Business Development in the region. Prior to Moonbug, Duncan was senior director, International Business Development and Publishing at Paramount, where he led the international and business development, as well as the publishing teams in the EMEA and APAC regions.

Duncan Hamilton

Francesca Romana Gianesin, head of Consumer Products EMEA & ANZ at Moonbug Entertainment, commented: “Our consumer products business is growing rapidly and these new roles are key for our continued expansion across Europe, Middle East and Africa, also expanding Australia & New Zealand L&M business. Together, Suzanne, Samar and Duncan are great leaders who bring a wealth of experience and expertise and I am looking forward to working with them all. Exciting times at Moonbug!”

For more information on Moonbug, visit www.moonbug.com.

Toy World interviewed Moonbug Entertainment‘s managing director Global Consumer Products, Simon Philips, along with Francesca Romana Gianesin, in the Licensing section of September’s Toy World, ahead of the team’s debut BLE appearance. To read about the company’s CP strategy, growth plans and much more, click here.

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