9 Story Bolsters Senior Leadership Team

9 Story Media Group has made key hires across distribution, development, legal and technology.

“Each of our newly appointed senior executives brings an impressive background and skill set in children’s media and we are extremely proud to welcome them to 9 Story Media Group,” said Vince Commisso, president and CEO of 9 Story. “9 Story is a global leader in children’s content and this talented team provides tremendous bench strength to support our ongoing growth efforts.”

Joss Duffield joins the distribution team as VP of distribution Europe and is based out of London. Reporting to Alix Wiseman, senior VP of distribution and acquisitions, Duffield will be responsible for 9 Story Distribution International’s business across Western Europe, continuing to build and bolster the division’s growth within these markets. Most recently, Duffield served as director of content for Northern Europe at Turner, and previously served as head of international sales at eOne.

Gráinne McNamara takes on the new role of VP of live action development and production, reporting to Chief Creative Officer Angela Santomero. McNamara will be responsible for leading the company’s overall development efforts for original television series in live-action kids’ and family. McNamara is joining from King Bert Productions.

Jennifer Bol will be leading the global 9 Story legal team as senior VP of legal and business affairs. She will be responsible for establishing the global in-house practices that will set the strategic direction for 9 Story’s legal services worldwide. Bol will also be developing and implementing the organization’s legal and regulatory framework and collaborating with the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to execute business strategies. Bol comes most recently from Blue Ant Media, where she served as senior legal counsel. She previously worked at 9 Story from 2012 to 2015 as director of legal and business affairs.

Boris Beaubien is joining 9 Story’s Toronto team as VP of technology, reporting to Chief Operating Officer Cathal Gaffney. Most recently, Beaubien worked with Sesame Workshop to upgrade and refresh Sesame Street’s 50th season and develop the technology for their slate of series for Apple TV+.