Pixel Zoo Animation Studios hires kids TV veteran 

Irene Weibel (pictured), the former studio head at Nelvana, has joined Australia’s Pixel Zoo Animation Studios as business development executive. Based out of the studio’s LA office, Weibel will work with Josh Fisher, Pixel Zoo’s head of development, to grow the studio’s global reach and US footprint. Weibel is tasked with building connections with US studios, streamers and production companies, creating opportunities for more service work and co-productions. Weibel’s other credits include WildBrain’s Summer Memories, BBC’s Moon and Me and Disney’s Hotel Transylvania: The Series. MGA Entertainment acquired Pixel Zoo in 2022 to be a key part of its then-new subsidiary MGA Studios. Pixel Zoo’s portfolio includes Rainbow World (Netflix) and digital-first series Baby Alive and Alwayz Bratz.  

Mattel elevates two execs to lead EMEA 

The company has promoted VP Apostolis Karampatzakis to SVP and head of core Europe, with Sebastian Trischler taking on Karampatzakis’s role as VP and country manager for pan-Europe and Mediterranean markets. Both are reporting to Sanjay Luthra, the company’s incoming chief commercial officer who starts in that role on May 1. Karampatzakis will lead commercial strategy and retail distribution across the company’s major European markets, like the UK, Germany, France and the Nordics. Trischler will lead day-to-day commercial operations across EMEA. He was previously VP and country manager for Germany, Austria and Switzerland and head of e-commerce in EMEA. 

Image courtesy of Pixel Zoo Animation Studios.