Portfolio Entertainment Hires LA Rep for Development, Production

Irene Weibel will be responsible for further accelerating the company’s presence in the U.S.

March 18, 2021

Portfolio Entertainment continues to expand its senior creative team with Irene Weibel. In her consulting role, Weibel will be responsible for further accelerating the company’s presence in the U.S., by using her vast strategic business and creative experience to represent and build the company’s robust slate and thriving Toronto animation studio.

Reporting to Lisa Olfman, chief executive officer and co-founder, Weibel will work closely with the senior creative team at Portfolio’s headquarters in Toronto across the company’s development slate of both animated and live-action properties for kids and family audiences. Weibel will also assist in supporting Portfolio’s newest endeavors in Primetime and Adult Animation production and service animation for the Toronto-based studio. Weibel will further drive the company’s already successful initiatives in supporting and curating new talent and diverse storytelling. She will serve as an executive producer on a new slate of projects that will be announced soon.

“I

am excited to be in business with Portfolio,” says Weibel. “Lisa and Joy and the team at the Studio are continually innovating and their recent move into live action and prime time animation is a prime example. I know that delivering compelling content to the marketplace will be at the heart of our partnership.”

Prior to joining Portfolio Entertainment, Weibel was a successful independent producer and entrepreneur, co-founding acclaimed kids’ entertainment company Sutikki in 2016, and during that time, financed and produced preschool series “Moon and Me” for the BBC. Weibel has also held senior positions in the industry as vice president, head of Nelvana Studios, as well as head of international co-production and development for Corus Entertainment. Weibel served as an executive producer on projects including Nelvana and Sony Pictures Animation’s “Hotel Transylvania: The Series.” Weibel is also an Emmy Award winner.

“Irene’s vast experience, wealth of contacts and success in developing and producing content for the global market will be a tremendous asset to Portfolio as we continue focusing on cultivating new creative voices and diversifying our slate of high-quality brands and premium content,” says Lisa Olfman, co-founder and chief executive officer, Portfolio Entertainment. “We are thrilled to have someone of Irene’s caliber join our team.”

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