When Zach Marks founded Grom Social back in 2012 at the age of 11, he saw a world of social networking opportunities for his fellow pre-teen peers.

Three years and 1.5 million members later, Grom Social has officially brought former Warner Bros. Animation and FremantleMedia Kids & Family boss Sander Schwartz on-board as company president.

Among Schwartz’s priorities is expanding the website into all areas of children’s media and licensing. He will work alongside chairman and CEO Darren Marks, father of Zach, to tap into the advertising potential of the platform, targeting consumer brands that want to reach kids.

Grom – Australian slang for a promising young surfer – is positioned as a safe social media destination for kids ages six to 16, while offering youth advertisers  in all categories of entertainment and consumer products a conduit for reaching kids. The site offers exclusive entertainment content, gaming, a virtual world, age-appropriate child development materials and timely news about sports, pop culture, health, fitness and education.

In the era of COPPA compliance, Grom Social requires kids get parental permission to register, while a special Parents Portal provides a bi-weekly Report Card that details each child’s activity on the site. A staff of real-time Grom Helpers works around the clock to cull through the site’s content, photos and chats.

A seasoned children’s media exec, Schwartz has been at the helm of his own consultancy that provides services for clients (among them, Grom Social) in the areas of kids TV, film and other media. He left his position at FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment in 2013 in order to pursue new business opportunities in TV production .Schwartz previously served as production president at Sony Pictures Television International from 2007 to 2009.