COOKIE JAR ENTERTAINMENT NAMES JIM MCGOWAN SVP, DIGITAL CONTENT AND DISTRIBUTION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Burbank, CA (October 29, 2009) - Jim McGowan, a veteran entertainment and consumer products executive with years of experience in both industries, has been appointed SVP, Digital Content and Distribution. Based in Burbank, McGowan will report to Toper Taylor, Cookie Jar Entertainment President and COO.
"For the past 20 years, Jim has held executive positions at major film studios and consumer products companies, and his expertise will be a great asset to Cookie Jar Entertainment," said Taylor. "He will play a major role in the continued expansion of our digital media department."
For the past three years, McGowan ran his own entertainment and media consulting company. His clients included Entertainment Rights PLC, Twentieth Century Fox, Starz Media and Dentsu Communications Inc., for whom he negotiated licensing and distribution agreements, prepared business plans and identified acquisitions.
Previously, McGowan served as Director, Entertainment Business Development for Mattel, where he was responsible for the worldwide home entertainment and television distribution of the very successful direct-to-video programming based on the popular Barbie and Hot Wheels toy franchises.
During his eight year tenure at Pioneer Entertainment, he ran the company's animation division, acquiring exclusive video distribution rights to such hit TV shows as Pokemon and Sailor Moon. He also established the company's merchandising division, handled all television sales and worked on the successful theatrical release of the film Akira. McGowan also was responsible for Pioneer's DVD music division acquiring rights to such hits as The Kids Are Alright featuring The Who.
Additionally, McGowan spent five years with Paramount Pictures Licensing Group where he found the development partner and first location for the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurants, based on the hit movie Forrest Gump.
About Cookie Jar Group
Cookie Jar Group is a global entertainment, consumer products and education company dedicated to excellence. Through Cookie Jar Entertainment, the company is a leader in the creation, production, marketing and licensing of evergreen character brands that appeal to kids and families worldwide. Cookie Jar Entertainment's library of nearly 6,000 half-hour episodes features some of the world's most recognizable brands, including "Caillou", "Inspector Gadget", "The Doodlebops", "Arthur" and "Johnny Test". Cookie Jar Group's full-service global licensing division, Copyright Promotions Licensing Group, represents numerous third-party iconic brands. Cookie Jar Group also has a one-third interest in international children's television channel Kidsco. Cookie Jar Education is one of North America's largest providers of supplemental education materials, reaching nearly 2,000 teachers across the United States, through the Carson-Dellosa and HighReach Learning brands. For more information, please visit www.cjar.com.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Brook Hefner/Cookie Jar Group bhefner@cjar.com; (818) 955-5454
