Ed Barnieh will be stepping out of his VP of development role at BBC Studios Kids & Family this August in order to set up his own creative agency. 

Barnieh joined the Beeb’s commercial arm in November 2022 to spearhead creative direction. “Ed has been instrumental in reshaping the [division’s] development slate, and we wish him all the very best for his next venture,” said a BBC Studios spokesperson. No word yet on who will be assuming his responsibilities.

Barnieh’s departure announcement comes right on the heels of yesterday’s news that Liz Randall—head of development (indies) and executive producer—is leaving BBC Studios Kids & Family next month as part of a planned wave of job cuts. Expected to impact up to 13 positions, these reductions are in response to the company’s need for “more flexibility to better resource peak periods and reduce downtime costs” as it navigates a challenging market, according to a spokesperson.

Before joining BBC Studios, Barnieh spent nearly three years at Netflix—first stationed in Singapore as manager of international kids and family originals for APAC, and then moving to London to serve as manager of animation series across the EMEA region.

Earlier in his career, Barnieh worked in programming, acquisitions and co-production at WarnerMedia APAC, and he also spent more than five years with Nickelodeon UK, starting out in acquisitions and digital media, and eventually overseeing multiplatform planning for all of Nick’s brands as a content manager.