France’s Cyber Group Studios has announced the promotion of Raphaelle Mathieu from SVP of sales, digital and acquisitions into a newly created EVP role.

She now oversees all commercial activities worldwide, and will work with CEO Pierre Sissmann and COO Dominique Bourse to plan strategies for overall growth.

Mathieu says she is touched by the trust the company’s founders have in her, and sees her role as focused on facilitating international relationships. “We want to motivate creativity of the best talents worldwide to make super-cool animation for kids and families on linear and non-linear platforms, and my role is to allow this to happen in the best way possible.”

One of the first things Mathieu intends to do is build a schedule of in-person meetings around the world, a facet of professional life that has been sorely missed during the pandemic, and something she says is essential to success.

Cyber Group has been expanding globally through M&A at a rapid clip lately, taking majority stakes in animation studios including UK-based A Productions, Graphilm Entertainment in Italy, and Singapore’s Scrawl Animation.