Halifax’s DHX Media Ltd. has appointed veteran animation industry executive Amir Nasrabadi as executive vice-president and general manager of its animation studio in Vancouver.
Nasrabadi will be joining the team in this newly created role effective June 10, reporting to president Josh Scherba, according to a news release.
Nasrabadi will oversee all animation production at the studio, leading the Vancouver animation team in working closely with DHX Media’s creative, content and brands teams.
“We believe Amir’s history as head of Pixar Canada in Vancouver, as well as his time in management with Illumination, Paramount and Disney will deliver tremendous value to our business,” Scherba said in the release.
Nasrabadi brings over 20 years of experience in production, operations, finance and strategy in the animation and visual effects industry, having held senior roles with some of the world’s top production companies and studios.
Most recently, he was executive vice-president of finance and operations for Illumination, producers of such hits as Despicable Me, Minions, The Grinch and Sing. At Illumination, he led all aspects of operations, IT, finance, planning, competitive and industry analysis, and business development.
DHX Media’s 75,000-square-foot animation studio in Vancouver employs about 500 2D- and 3D-animation professionals, the company said. Located in Vancouver's Olympic Village, the five-storey facility opened in 2017.
The studio produced more than 1,800 minutes of animated content in 2018, and is working on new Peanuts content for Apple, as well as Chip and Potato for Netflix, Blaze and the Monster Machines for Nickelodeon, and Dorg Van Dango for Nickelodeon with Cartoon Saloon.
DHX Media is a global children’s content and brands company, with properties including Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Caillou, Inspector Gadget and the Degrassi franchise.
