Edward Galton

TV Kids
Weekly, March 25, 2008

Managing
Director

Cake
Distribution

Joining the
children’s-animation business was almost in-evitable for Edward Galton. His
father was the president of Marvel Comics for some 20 years, and from a very
young age, Galton was immersed in characters like Spider-Man, Captain America
and the Incredible Hulk. “For me it was pretty exciting,” says Galton, “but at
that point in time I never knew that this is what I wanted to do.”

Galton got his
start in the television business as an assistant at Fox Lorber Associates in
New York, and in a short period of time was selling products to a large portion
of the world. “I was thrown into the fire to see if I could handle it, and it
turned out to be a good thing,” he recalls. “I remember phoning my father one
day and I said, ‘Dad, I have to go to Cannes on a business trip and I’m either
going to do really well or I’m going to get fired.’” He celebrated his first
deal on that trip with strawberries and champagne and says he knew he loved his
job from that moment on.

At the age of
25, Galton moved to Paris to begin working as the head of television
distribution at Gaumont, which later led him to Igel Media, where he worked in
London and Hamburg as the company’s COO before moving on to a six-year stint as
the executive VP at France’s Xilam Animation. From there, Galton joined Cake
Distribution, where he currently sits as the company’s managing director.

“I always felt
like I understood animation,” says Galton on what drew him to his current role.
“It’s funny, but it’s something I felt pretty comfortable with.” As part of his
responsibilities, Galton supervises all distribution, co-productions and sales
for the company. “I oversee our sales team and make sure that we’re
representing our producers properly and also our catalogue of properties, and
making sure that we’re exploiting the rights in a responsible way and making
money,” he says.

Set up in
2006, the London-based distributor has become a key player in the animation and
family-entertainment market. It is very much focused on keeping up the momentum
behind its hit animated property Skunk Fu!, which has sold in more than 100 territories. Galton says
Cake is working on establishing the property as a brand and is putting together
a second season.

The company is
also continuing sales for its comedic action series Eliot Kid, aimed at children aged 6 to 9.
Broadcasters already on board include TF1; BBC; ABC in Australia; Disney
Channel in France, Italy, Spain and Germany; RTBF; TSR; TV2 in Denmark; and RUV
in Iceland.

—By
Kristin Brzoznowski