North America

Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Burbank, California, 818-295-5200): Robert Chapek to VP of marketing. Chapek is responsible for the strategic planning and creative development of all domestic sell-through and rental marketing plans for the Disney, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax Films and Dimension Films product lines. Mary Kincaid to senior VP, marketing communications. Kincaid will assume responsibility for all public relations, event marketing, national promotions and synergy and continue to oversee all aspects of media and research.

Buena Vista Productions (Burbank, California, 818-560-1000): Stephanie Drachkovitch to senior VP, programming. She will oversee first-run development for syndication, cable and network.

Cartoon Network (Atlanta, Georgia, 404-885-4118): Mark Norman to VP, business operations. Norman will be responsible for long-range strategic planning and forecasting, including original programming, program acquisitions and on-air promotion.

Children’s Television Workshop (New York, New York, 212-595-3456): Emily Swenson, executive VP and chief operating officer, is leaving the company.

Columbia TriStar Home Video (Culver City, California, 310-244-7164): Stuart Segal to executive director, sell-through sales at Columbia TriStar Home Video Canada. Segal will oversee the Canadian sell-through sales force as well as the servicing of direct retail accounts. Elliot Chusid to director, rental sales at Columbia TriStar Home Video Canada. Chusid will be responsible for the management of the rental business including directing the rental sales team as well as servicing Canadian video retailers.

Discovery Networks (Bethesda, Maryland, 301-986-0444): Lori McFarling to VP, affiliate marketing.

Disney Channel (Burbank, California, 818-569-7500): Janet Scardino, formerly of Sunbow Entertainment, to VP and managing director of the Disney Channel for Italy. Scardino will be based in Milan. Disney Channel Italy will launch this fall.

Doyle Research Associates (Chicago, Illinois, 312-944-4848): Tom McGee to VP. Doyle Research Associates is an independent qualitative market research firm. McGee specializes in research on children and teens.

DreamWorks SKG (Universal City, California, 818-733-7000): Matt Brown will head up the worldwide home video division. Brown will oversee the video release of all live-action and animated projects.

FAO Schwarz (New York, New York, 212-644-9400): James A. Meyer to VP/senior buyer.

Fox Family Channel (Los Angeles, California, 310-235-9700): Thomas E. Lucas to senior VP, marketing. Lucas will be responsible for the overall marketing efforts, including advertising, promotion and creative services for The Family Channel, which will be relaunched as Fox Family Channel on August 15.

Hasbro (Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 401-431-8697): Martin Trueb joins as senior VP and treasurer. Donald Barksdale to senior VP and chief information officer. Arra G. Yerganian joins as senior VP, marketing and trade services. John Osher has stepped down as president of the Cap Toys division. John Barbour, president of the OddzOn Products division, assumes Osher’s responsibilities.

Iwerks Entertainment (Burbank, California, 818-841-7766): Charles Goldwater to chairman of the board, chief executive officer and president. Iwerks Entertainment is a producer of high-tech, multisensory experiences such as ride simulation and 3-D giant screen theaters.

J. Walter Thompson (New York, New York, 212-758-7000): David Faulkner to worldwide account director for Kraft. Faulkner will be based in Chicago, Illinois.

Live Home Entertainment (Van Nuys, California, 818-908-0303): Jeffrey Fink to president of sales and marketing.

MGM Consumer Products (Santa Monica, California, 310-449-3000): David A. Palmer to VP, marketing. Palmer will be responsible for brand positioning, marketing, advertising and public relations and will collaborate all efforts with the division’s sales department to determine promotional strategies. In addition, he will be involved in product and retail development.

Midway Home Entertainment (Corsicana, Texas, 903-874-2683): Paula Cook to director of marketing. Cook is responsible for the marketing management of all new and established video game products, overseeing the creation, development and implementation of strategic marketing, advertising, public relations and promotions programs in support of the company’s new game releases. Midway Home Entertainment designs, markets and distributes video games for home game platforms and personal computers.

Nickelodeon (New York, New York, 212-258-7500): Lisa Judson to senior VP, senior creative director, Nickelodeon Creative Group, a newly formed division. Kris Bagwell to senior VP/general manager, Nickelodeon MediaWorks. Bagwell will oversee the Magazine Group, Nickelodeon Online and overall business development at Nickelodeon MediaWorks.

Palladium Interactive (San Rafael, California, 415-446-1700): David Grenewetzki to senior VP, product development. Palladium Interactive produces CD-ROMs including titles based on the PBS kids series Wishbone.

Paramount Home Video (Hollywood, California, 213-956-5000): Felice Fleisher to senior VP for Canada. Fleisher will continue to oversee all day-to-day Canadian sales and marketing activities, including sales and marketing of both English- and French-language video product. Fleisher is based in Toronto.

Paramount Pictures (Hollywood, California, 213-956-5000): Dede Gardner to VP, production. Gardner will work with the film and publishing communities to identify, procure and develop properties for feature film production. Lynn LaRocca to executive director of regional publicity and promotion.

Playmates (Costa Mesa, California, 714-428-2000): Karl Aaronian returns as executive VP, marketing and development. Aaronian was previously at Playmates for nine years heading up its marketing and product development area, during which time he played a key role in launching Playmates’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Trek brands.

Saban Entertainment (Los Angeles, California, 310-235-5100): Amy Goldberg to VP, motion pictures. Goldberg will oversee development and production of original television movies for Fox Family Channel and direct-to-video films.

Sports Illustrated For Kids (New York, New York, 212-522-2493): Shaun Gurl will add general manager to his associate publisher title and will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the magazine. He will also act as general manager of NBA Inside Stuff magazine, a custom publishing venture from SI For Kids in collaboration with the National Basketball Association. Gail Day will add associate publisher to her advertising director title and will retain her title as publisher of NBA Inside Stuff. Day will be responsible for sales of all SI For Kids and NBA Inside Stuff products, which include print, on-line, education and television. Gabrielle Severini to marketing director. She will continue to be responsible for sales development, and her duties have expanded to include overseeing creative services as well as strategic planning.

Toys `R’ Us (Paramus, New Jersey, 201-262-7800): Michael Goldstein to chairman, replacing company founder Charles Lazarus, who will become chairman emeritus and continue as a board member. Robert Nakasone to CEO. Bruce Krysiak to president, USA division. Keith Van Beek to president of merchandising and marketing, USA division. David Rurka, currently managing director of the U.K. division, will assume the additional post of chairman of the company’s new European management board.

Trendmasters (St. Louis, Missouri, 314-231-2250): Lawrence Lilly joins as VP of sales, responsible for the southern U.S. Alan Cohn to senior VP of sales for the Midwest. David Rhodes to VP of sales for the East Coast. Peter Tasker to VP of international sales. Stacy Grzeskowiak to VP of sales administration.

Universal Pictures (Universal City, California, 818-777-1000): Louis Feola to president of the newly created Universal Family & Home Entertainment Production division. Feola will be responsible for the development and production of direct-to-video product, as well as family-oriented live action and animation television, Universal Cartoon Studios and acquisitions for video distribution.

Universal Studios Consumer Products Group (Universal City, California, 818-777-1000): Kenneth J. Kay to senior VP and chief financial officer. Kay will be responsible for all worldwide financial and administrative functions. He will also be involved with the exploration of new properties and the continuation of international and retail expansion. Norman Becker and Paul Landau to VPs, business and legal affairs.

Universal Studios Home Video (Universal City, California, 818-777-1000): Bruce Pfander joins the newly established executive office as executive VP, domestic. Pfander will be responsible for all aspects of domestic consumer and retail marketing, as well as promotions, and will oversee domestic sales. Andrew Kairey to executive VP, international. Under the new structure, the executive office jointly manages Universal’s worldwide video activities for a range of product, including Universal Pictures motion picture titles, direct-to-video, catalogue and family entertainment.

UPN (Los Angeles, California, 310-575-7000): Robert Rene joins as executive VP, marketing. Rene will oversee UPN’s network marketing, affiliate marketing and media relations departments.

USA Networks (New York, New York, 212-408-9100): Kat Stein to director, corporate communications. Stein will be responsible for handling corporate communications projects including trade, marketing, licensing, new media and public affairs publicity.

Venture Licensing (Don Mills, Canada, 416-443-0825): Terra Bellmore to account executive, retail and promotions.

Viacom Consumer Products (Hollywood, California, 213-956-5000): Marc Harrington to director, domestic licensing.

Viacom Productions (Los Angeles, California, 310-234-5000): Viacom Productions has signed former Viacom Consumer Products executive Debbi Petrasek to an 18-month development deal. Petrasek, who oversaw the licensing efforts for Viacom Productions’ series Sabrina, The Teenage Witch while at Viacom Consumer Products, will be a key member of Viacom Productions’ creative team focusing on the development of series television with solid merchandising elements. In addition to working with original material, Petrasek will be developing concepts based on published works, classic characters and established brands.

Walt Disney Company (Burbank, California, 818-560-1000): Steven Pleshette Murphy joins as senior VP, Buena Vista Publishing. Murphy will be responsible for Hyperion, Disney Children’s Book Group, licensed publishing and creative development and the magazines Discover, Disney Adventures, Disney Magazine and FamilyFun.

Zany Brainy (Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, 610-896-1500): Keith Spurgeon to chairman. Thomas Vellios to president.

Zoom Cartoons (Los Angeles, California, 213-202-5959): Susan Bernstein and Dan Kuenster, producer and VP of animation at 7th Level Studios, respectively, are leaving to set up their own company, Zoom Cartoons. Zoom Cartoons will be dedicated to digital animation production and design. One of the new company’s first clients is Bandai Entertainment. Zoom will be producing an animated home video, called Now Museum, Now You Don’t, based on Bandai’s Tamagotchi toy.

International

Hibbert Ralph Animation (London, England, 44-171-494-3011): Jackie Edwards to producer.

ITE (Copenhagen, Denmark, 45-33-26-5600): Claus Hansen to PC games area manager. Hansen will be responsible for developing sales and marketing strategies for the games area, as well as new product concepts. Nathalie Delin to sales manager for Asia.

To place appointments, promotions or relocations, please forward a press release with photo to Theresa Dillon at KidScreen, People in New Jobs, 366 Adelaide St. W. Suite 500, Toronto, Ont., Canada, M5V 1R9; fax: 416-408-0870; e-mail: dillon@brunico.com