ZAG Names Vice President, North America Retail Development

Animation studio ZAG announced today the appointment of Rafael Baltodano, formerly with The Walt Disney Company, as vice president, North America retail development.  The announcement was made by Julian Zag, executive vice president, global operations and head of consumer poducts.  

Reporting to Lisa K. Foster, senior vice president, licensing, North America, Rafael will manage strategic relationships across all tiers of retail throughout North America for the roster of properties under the ZAG Heroez label—an umbrella brand franchise that brings together the superheroes from ZAG’s animated properties that include “Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir,” “Power Players” and company’s newest property, “Ghostforce.” He will help further ZAG’s mission in building best-in-class licensed programs, supporting licensees with product placement and promotion.  

Rafael’s initial focus will be to work with retailers on the fall rollout of products for “Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir.” 

“Demand continues to be extremely strong for ‘Miraculous’ with sales exceeding expectations across the board,” says Julian Zag.  “Rafael will lead the charge to expand placement for our partners as well as securing promotional space for retailers around key events surrounding the brand.”  

“I have been impressed by the tremendous growth of ZAG over the past couple of years and the quality of content and merchandise the company creates,” says Rafael. “I look forward to working with the ZAG team, retailers, and our partners, to bring a whole new range of quality products to our ‘Miraculous’ fans across North America this fall and throughout 2023.” 

Prior to joining ZAG, Rafael served in several key licensing and retail positions for The Walt Disney Company, Pixar, and Marvel, spanning over 15 years.  Most recently he served as director of retail brand development creating the overarching go to market retail strategies for the Disney and Pixar franchises.