Michael Polis Named CEO, W!LDBRAIN Entertainment

Michael Polis Named CEO, W!LDBRAIN Entertainment

LOS ANGELES, May 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Charles Rivkin, President and CEO, W!LDBRAIN, announced the appointment of Michael Polis to the newly created position of CEO, W!LDBRAIN Entertainment, effective immediately. Rivkin, who oversees operations for W!LDBRAIN and its subsidiary Kidrobot, will step down as President and CEO, W!LDBRAIN on June 5, 2009, having been named as President Obama's candidate to serve as the United States Ambassador to France. Polis will report directly to W!LDBRAIN's board of directors. Diego Marchioni, CEO of Kidrobot, will remain in his post and will also report directly to the board.

Rivkin hired Polis as chief marketing officer of W!LDBRAIN in 2007. As chief marketing officer, Polis led and supervised unprecedented global marketing and licensing initiatives on behalf of W!LDBRAIN's entertainment assets, including YO GABBA GABBA! In his new role, Polis will oversee all operations for W!LDBRAIN Entertainment, where he will continue to expand, evaluate and develop opportunities for the studio's intellectual properties.

"Mike was instrumental in helping to grow W!LDBRAIN Entertainment," said Rivkin. "His proven creativity and entrepreneurial spirit will ensure his success in this new position."

"Mike Polis has an impressive record of achievement and has been a big part of our success," said Jim Caccavo, W!LDBRAIN board member and Managing General Partner, Steelpoint Capital Partners. "We are confident that he will build on our past success and take W!LDBRAIN Entertainment to a new level."

Polis is a 20-year entertainment industry veteran with a proven track record in marketing, licensing and product development. Prior to joining W!LDBRAIN in 2007, he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing Worldwide at The Jim Henson Company, overseeing global strategic marketing initiatives for the entire Henson library, including "The Muppets," "Fraggle Rock" and "Labryrinth." Polis received an Emmy nomination as an executive producer on "Kermit's Swamp Years." Before Henson, Polis was Executive Director of Marketing at Universal Home Entertainment, managing marketing of the home video catalog and releases such as "E.T.," "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" and "The Land Before Time."

About W!LDBRAIN:

Founded in 1994, W!LDBRAIN (www.wildbrain.com) is an award-winning entertainment company that develops and produces unique and compelling content across the media spectrum. W!LDBRAIN also creates and distributes collectible merchandise through its subsidiary Kidrobot, planet Earth's premier creator and retailer of limited edition toys, clothing, mini-figures, artwork and books. Powered by its distinctive pool of talented animators and directors renowned for blending traditional animation methods with state-of-the-art computer graphics, the studio and its creative team have consistently won top industry awards. In film, W!LDBRAIN won an Annie for its computer graphics short film Hubert's Brain. In television, the studio has produced an exceptional slate of original work, including the hit series YO GABBA GABBA!, which was renewed for a third season by Nickelodeon and Higglytown Heroes, the top-rated and critically acclaimed animated series on the Disney Channel. W!LDBRAIN has a motion picture based on the hit series YO GABBA GABBA! in the works and has teamed with Paramount to develop a motion picture based on Kidrobot characters. In the short form category, the studio has teamed with Dan Clark to produce TEAM SMITHEREEN. W!LDBRAIN also conceptualized and will produce and animate "The Ricky Gervais Show" for HBO. As one of the nation's foremost producers of animated commercials, W!LDBRAIN has won Clios, Addys, BDA Awards and Annies for their commercial work, reinvigorating classic brands for leading companies including The Coca-Cola Company, Honda, Kraft and Nike.

Contact: Kelly Kimball

310.271.1400/ kkimball@wildbrain.com

Source: W!LDBRAIN

CONTACT: Kelly Kimball of W!LDBRAIN, +1-310-271-1400,
kkimball@wildbrain.com

Web Site: http://www.wildbrain.com/

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