Taking an all-screen approach, Nickelodeon has appointed digital media specialist James Stephenson to the newly created position of SVP of animation and games.

Stephenson most recently served as Nickelodeon SVP of content development and digital media, and will now add animation production and development to his new role based at the kidcaster’s animation studio in Burbank, California.

Reporting to Nickelodeon Group’s president of content development and production, Russell Hicks, Stephenson will lead current series creative and oversee day-to-day operations for animation development, short form, series and games.

In his former remit, he was tasked with the creative development of original content for Nickelodeon’s digital destinations, including Nick’s websites, apps, digital platforms and premium games publishing businesses.

Under his watch, Nick introduced its first-ever original digital series, Welcome to the Wayne, which was greenlit for a full TV series  in April after a successful digital run.

Stephenson has been with Nickelodeon since 2008, when he joined as the network’s SVP of creative director and digital.

He previously did stints at MTV Networks as VP of digital creative and product development, and at Atom Entertainment as publisher of online entertainment sites AtomFilms.com, Shockwave.com and AddictingGames.com.

The new appointment follows a major re-structure by Nick’s parent company Viacom, which laid off a number of senior executives from its animation divisions in March, including SVP of current series Rich Magallenes, SVP of animation development Jenna Boyd, and VP of animation development Jill Sanford.