Former senior manager at Mattel and CAKE Marie-Laure Roche is stepping in as the interim global head of sales for London-based distributor Jetpack.

Based in London, Roche will report directly to Jetpack’s CEO Dominic Gardiner. She officially joins the company on September 1 and is covering for Gillian Calvert Ridge (who holds the permanent position) while she is on maternity leave. Roche is handling sales for a catalogue that includes the animated series Daisy & Ollie, Kitty is Not a Cat, Talking Tom and Friends, and Oswaldo. She will also be working alongside Ridge and Gardiner in the lead-up to and during MIP Junior in October.

Roche has held a number of sales roles for distributors in the kids TV industry prior to Jetpack. Most recently, she was the senior manager of content distribution EMEA for Mattel, where she handled distribution of all media rights for brands, including Thomas & Friends and Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures.

Prior to that, she worked as the senior sales manager for London-based distributor CAKE for nearly six years, where she was in charge of sales across Europe and Asia for properties like Angry Birds, Total Drama Series and Angelo Rules.

Jetpack has kept busy this year expanding its catalogue with a steady stream of deals. In May the company picked up the international distribution rights for season one (52 x 11 minutes) and two of (104 x seven minutes) of the 2D-animated series Emmy & Gooroo. Growing its animated slate,  this past February the distributor acquired the international rights to the animated series Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty. Jetpack also picked up international distribution rights for its first feature films from British prodco Perplexia Pictures in January.

Roche is not the only person who has joined Jetpack’s team this year, the distributor hired former DHX exec Sophie Prigent in February as its sales director. Prigent, who is based in Paris manages distribution across all French speaking territories, Central and Eastern Europe, Greece, the Middle East, Africa, LatAm and USH.