HIT Entertainment, a subsidiary of Mattel, has appointed Christopher Keenan as its new vice president of creative and executive producer.
Keenan replaces Michael Carrington in the role, who has joined the production Zodiak Kids as chief executive officer of The Foundation, according to Television Business International.
Prior to joining Mattel, Keenan served as senior vice president of creative affairs for the animation division of Warner Bros. He also previously worked at Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment as story editor and served as director of children’s entertainment for Capital Cities/ABC.
“We are grateful to Michael Carrington for the tremendous work that he has done putting HIT’s brands, such as Thomas & Friends, creatively back on track, and we wish him well in all of his future endeavors. We are incredibly excited to bring on Christopher Keenan with his wealth of experience leading the global creative development and production for numerous iconic children’s properties,” says Edward Catchpole, senior vice president and general manager, HIT Entertainment, to whom Keenan will report. “Christopher’s skill set and capabilities are a tremendous addition to the team as we continue to expand the brands, formats and platforms that we develop to deliver exceptional stories, drive our business and forge even stronger global partnerships. Over the past year, Christopher has been working with HIT as a consulting creative executive on the all-new ‘Bob the Builder’ series, and his work has been critical to the development of the brand.”
