WildBrain Appoints Disney Alum to Senior Management Team

WildBrain has tapped Elia Bouthors for the newly created position of strategy and innovation director, effective immediately.

In his new role, Bouthors will lead a team tasked with identifying and piloting new ways to engage the company’s 300 million quarterly users and build and monetize brands across the WildBrain network. He will report to the company’s managing director, Jon Gisby.

Bouthors joins WildBrain from The Walt Disney Company, at which he served for four years as digital strategy and business development director, a role that saw him identifying, developing and executing growth strategies for EMEA. Prior to Disney, he held the position of strategy manager at the BBC and worked on the development and financing of a number of media projects, as well as in M&A, with the investment banks Jeffries & Company and UBS.

Bouthors’ hire further strengthens WildBrain’s senior leadership team, following the recent appointment of Rachel Taylor as commercial director.

“Elia’s arrival comes at a pivotal time for WildBrain as we explore new ways to engage our global audience with the content and brands they love,” said Gisby. “His team will pioneer new ways for content to be discovered across our network and identify collaborations with IP owners to grow new audiences and revenue. Elia’s background combines strategy and corporate finance with experience in both start-ups and studios, and he’s passionate about kids’ content, making him a perfect fit for WildBrain.”

“I am thrilled to be joining the WildBrain team to help write the company’s next chapter of development,” Bouthors added. “This is a very exciting time for the media industry and WildBrain has done an amazing job at building creative and distribution expertise to thrive in a highly disrupted space. With such great brands, talent and agility, WildBrain has tremendous potential for innovation and growth, and I look forward to working with the team to bring content and experiences that kids around the world will love.”