Gaumont Appoints London-Based Development Executive of Animation & Family Content (EXCLUSIVE)
By Elsa Keslassy
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Gaumont has appointed Courtney Arumugam, a former executive at The Bright Agency, to the post of VP of creative development of animation & family, as it aims to ramp up its presence in the U.K. and beyond. opened a London office last year.
Under the helm of Nicolas Atlan, the president of Gaumont’s animation & family, the company is pursuing its strategy to expand the development and production of kids content in key countries throughout Europe.
Prior to joining Gaumont, Arumugam worked at the UK-based literary and illustration company The Bright Agency where she served as senior creative executive and headed the banner’s newly launched in-house film and TV division. Arumugan also spent several years at Mattel where she developed animated and live action content based on original and existing IP.
“Courtney (Arumugam) is a great addition to our team, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge across development, animation and the kids’ space in general,” said Terry Kalagian, senior VP of creative development of animation and family at Gaumont.
Arumugam will be based in London and will focus on the European market. She will also work in close collaboration with Kimberly Dennison, the vice president of creative development at Gaumont’s U.S. office.
Gaumont’s production slate in terms of animation & family programs includes the recently-greenlit “Do, Re & Mi,” a new Amazon Original for pre-schoolers featuring original tracks performed by executive producers and creators Kristen Bell (“Disney’s Frozen”) and Jackie Tohn (“Glow”); and “Bionic Max,” created and directed by Thomas Digard, with France’s Gulli.
The company is developing series based on the New York Times bestselling author Julian Lennon and Bart Davis’s books Touch the Earth and Heal the Earth; another one based on Stan Sakai’s comic book series Usagi Yojimbo. Gaumont is also developing “High in the Clouds,” an animated feature based on Paul McCartney and Philip Ardagh’s book with the illustrator Geoff Dunbar on board.
