Sony Pictures Animation Alum to Lead Rainbow’s Bardel

Rick Mischel, former producer at Sony Pictures Animation (SPA), has been named CEO of Bardel Entertainment, an animation services provider in North America that Rainbow acquired in 2015.

As CEO, Mischel will strengthen Bardel’s reputation for quality, creativity and innovation to develop new business strategies and opportunities. He will continue the work of co-founders Delna Bhesania and Barry Ward, who are leaving the company this year.

While working at SPA, Mischel served as an executive producer for animated series based on the hit films Hotel Transylvania and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. He was also senior VP for Sony Pictures Imageworks, executive VP of Technicolor, founder and president of Reach Games, CEO of Mainframe Entertainment, and president and COO of The Harvey Entertainment Company.

“This is an exciting opportunity to lead a group of gifted animation artists with a proven track record of delivering the highest quality animation for some of the biggest intellectual properties in television and film,” said Mischel. “I look forward to continuing that history of surpassing client expectations, and working together with the global resources of Rainbow to take the company in new, innovative directions.”

Iginio Straffi, the founder and president of Rainbow, added: “Rick is an incredibly talented leader who has impressive track records. The potential for growth of Bardel Entertainment is enormous, but it requires a future-focused leader with the recognized depth and breadth of experience to manage the opportunities and challenges of a multiplatform, multi-studio world. Rick is that leader, a well-known and respected talent throughout the industry, who brings a wealth of animation experience to his new post. We are extremely delighted with this appointment and are excited to work with him bringing Bardel to higher ground.”