Brand management company Genius Brands International has elected entertainment industry veteran Anthony Thomopoulos to its board of directors. 

Thomopoulos began his longstanding career as a mail clerk at NBC, rising up the corporate ladder to senior positions in the company’s marketing unit. In 1973, he was hired to oversee primetime programming at rival ABC where eventually become president of the ABC Broadcast Group.

He left ABC in 1985 to become chairman of United Artists Pictures and in 1989 he formed the independent production company Thomopoulos Productions.

From 1991 to 1995, he was president of Amblin Television, a division of Amblin Entertainment where he was responsible for the original placement of NBC's highly acclaimed TV series “ER.”

In 1995, he joined International Family Entertainment where he handled all aspects of programming for The Family Channel and became chief executive officer of the IFE subsidiary MTM Entertainment.

In the early 2000s, Thomopoulos was chairman and chief executive officer of artist Thomas Kinkade's media arts group. He subsequently founded Morning Light Productions where he has been based since 2003. Thomopoulos also continues to operate Thomopoulos Productions and consult to certain companies in the digital space.

“Tony brings a tremendous wealth of creative and business experience to his position on the Genius Brands International board,” says Andy Heyward, chairman and chief executive officer, GBI. “Having spent decades in positions of great responsibility and authority within the broadcast and film industry, his relationships, knowledge and access is invaluable as we look to broaden our brand awareness and expand the reach of our content.”

Thomopoulos joins fellow board members Gray Davis, former Governor of California; Jeff Weiss, president and chief operating officer of American Greetings Corporation; Lynne Segall, publisher and senior vice president of The Hollywood Reporter; and Bernard Cahill, co-founder of ROAR. Andy Heyward, Amy Moynihan Heyward, president of GBI, and Klaus Moeller, vice president of special markets, GBI, complete the board.

"I am honored to join the Genius Brands International Board," says Thomopoulos. “Andy, Amy and the Genius Brands International team are deeply committed to developing content that is both innovative and informative, especially for young children, across all media platforms and I’m very happy to play a role in that mission.”