Norwegian children’s production company CreaCon Group, creators of the “City of Friends” preschool series, has appointed media executive Harold Sletten as chief executive officer.

The appointment was designed to allow Carl Christian Hamre, the creator of “City of Friends” and founder of CreaCon Group, to focus on the creative content of the brand and its international development in his new role as chief creative officer.

“With so much going on in the international marketplace the need for a dedicated resource on the day-to-day running of the company is paramount,” says Hamre. “While I have loved the challenge of developing the business to where it is today, I am absolutely delighted to be able to return to my first love, the creative side of the business and developing future content for ‘City of Friends.’”

As CEO, Sletten will lead the development and growth of the City of Friends brand and oversee the business and management team.

“CreaCon’s focus will be to renew our focus on growing our roster of licensees internationally with a particular focus on the U.K. and the Middle East,” says Sletten. “I am very pleased that Carl Christian will be able to dedicate himself to creating content and new concepts for City of Friends as this in turn will help the future growth of the brand.”

Sletten joins CreaCon from Bergens Tidende, Norway’s fourth largest newspaper, where he was chief marketing officer for 13 years. Sletten also served on the CreaCon board of directors for several years.

CreaCon will return to Brand Licensing Europe again this year in October to showcase City of Friends.