Longtime DreamWorks Animation exec Bill Damaschke is stepping down from his position as chief creative officer, following the appointment of Bonnie Arnold (pictured) and Mireille Soria as the studio’s new co-presidents of feature animation.

Damaschke joined the company in 1995 and was promoted to CCO in 2011.

Arnold and Soria, who are respectively the lead producers behind the studio’s successful How to Train Your Dragon and Madagascar franchises, will now take the lead on creative development and production for all theatrical releases. Between them, they’ve produced eight films at DreamWorks that have grossed more than US$3.5 billion globally.

A 12-year DreamWorks exec with 31 years of filmmaking experience, Arnold produced the studio’s Over the Hedge, as well as Disney’s Tarzan and Toy Story, which combined have earned more than US$1 billion in worldwide box-office sales. She also produced the Sony Pictures Classics’ release The Last Station.

Another 31-year production vet, Soria has put in 15 years at DreamWorks. Along with overseeing the Madagascar franchise, she produced Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Earlier in her career, Soria did stints at Fox Family Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures, where she was VP of production and credited on films including The Mighty Ducks, Cool Runnings and the live-action version of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.