CBS Television Studios Sets Up Star Trek Global Franchise Group

CBS Television Studios has created a global franchise group that will manage and maximize the expansion of the Star Trek brand.

Heading up the new team is Veronica Hart, executive VP of Star Trek global franchise management, who will manage the global brand strategy to support the content development plans being developed within CBS and under the leadership of Alex Kurtzman. The goal of the new group is to invigorate and broaden the Star Trek fan community through additional branding opportunities such as podcasts, a reinvigorated StarTrek.com and new digital spaces, consumer products and gaming, as well as live experiential events and global attractions.

In addition to Hart, the franchise team includes John Van Citters, VP of Star Trek brand development, who will work within CBS and across the industry as brand experts while leading the implementation of initiatives and programs; Yasmin Elachi, director of Star Trek content, in charge of creating, relaunching and maintaining the new StarTrek.com along with overseeing all aspects of Star Trek social media in order to present a cohesive online brand; and Gabrielle Oliff, director of global franchise management operations, who will focus on executing franchise initiatives and managing the review analytics and preparing presentations for cross-company communication.

“Veronica and her team are not only gifted brand strategists and veteran consumer products executives, they are also experts on the Star Trek canon,” said David Stapf, President of CBS Television Studios. “We are excited to launch this new business unit because the brand has an enormously rabid fan base, and we look forward to expanding its reach even further.”

“As we expand the Trekverse, Veronica’s team and Secret Hideout are dedicated to broadening Star Trek’s brand reach by amplifying its core values globally: empowerment, inclusion, imagination, and above all, the exceptional storytelling that’s inspired generations of fans,” said Kurtzman.