Endemol Shine North America Appoints New SVP of Licensing

Endemol Shine North America has named former 20th Century Fox executive Amber Sheppo as its new senior VP of licensing.

In her new role, Sheppo will be responsible for the development of creative licensing partnerships and live events, while overseeing product development around the company’s non-scripted and scripted series in North America. Sheppo will also work closely with Endemol Shine Group’s brand licensing team to develop licensing opportunities for the company’s top series globally.

Sheppo takes over leadership of Endemol Shine North America’s licensing team from Tamaya Petteway, who has served as the studio’s senior VP of brand and licensing partnerships since June 2015. Petteway will now serve as senior VP of brand partnerships, primarily focusing on the studio’s expanding brand partnership efforts for series such as MasterChef and MasterChef Junior (FOX), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (HGTV), The Biggest Loser (USA), Deal or No Deal (CNBC) and LEGO Masters (FOX).

Prior to joining the company, Sheppo served as VP of international licensing at 20th Century Fox, where she built international consumer products programs across FOX’s top film and TV titles including The Simpsons, as well as classics such as Romeo & Juliet and The Devil Wears Prada.

Before joining 20th Century Fox, Sheppo spent two years at Sony Pictures as executive director of international licensing, where she oversaw consumer products programs globally for such titles as Ghostbusters, the Hotel Transylvania franchise and Karate Kid.

Previously, Sheppo served as senior director of international consumer products and marketing for Saban Brands, spearheading the international licensing business for the company. She helped grow Saban properties such as Power Rangers and Paul Frank. Sheppo also managed all international licensing agents for the properties and executed all consumer and trade marketing initiatives across all brands.

“Amber brings a wealth of licensing experience from across the TV industry to our team here at Endemol Shine North America,” said Ben Samek, president and COO of Endemol Shine North America. “In her new role, Amber will not only be leading all of our licensing development and partnerships here in North America, but she’ll also be working closely with the team at our parent company Endemol Shine Group looking to create global licensing partnerships across all of our top series.”

Samek added, “We have had a lot of success developing meaningful partnerships with major brands across many of our shows and we’re thrilled that Tamaya will continue leading our expanded efforts in this space going forward.”

Jane Smith, group director for brand licensing and gaming for Endemol Shine Group, stated, “Bringing Amber into the team underlines our commitment to building a truly global brand licensing business across our great IP portfolio. We have a strong network of licensing teams across the world and by working ever more closely together can unlock further value and opportunities for our brands. Amber will be a key member of this team, bringing experience and insight of both the U.S. and international markets to our business.”

“I am thrilled to be joining the Endemol Shine family,” Sheppo said. “I am looking forward to extending the reach of the many beloved scripted and non-scripted programs in our portfolio through unique products and experiences, as well as working with our talented teams around the world to build a truly global licensing division.”