Saban Brands has appointed Shannon Smith and promoted Tim Quinlan to the role of vice presidents of business and legal affairs.

Quinlan will focus on Saban Brands’ global consumer products licensing business, along with brand enforcement and new acquisitions. He will continue to report to Rami Yanni, senior vice president of business and legal affairs. 

Meanwhile, Smith will focus on Saban Brands’ entertainment business, negotiating and drafting global distribution agreements, as well as handling content production and marketing-related contracts. She will report to Michael Bayer, who heads up business and legal affairs for Saban Brands.

Quinlan joined Saban in August 2013 as senior director of business and legal affairs where he provided support for Saban Brands’ intellectual property prosecution, brand enforcement and global consumer products licensing business as well as new acquisitions. Before his tenure with Saban Brands, he managed trademark, copyright, licensing and brand protection matters for Ford Motor Company.

Smith joins Saban Brands from AMC Networks where she worked as senior counsel, responsible for international distribution of content and facilitating international business growth. Prior to AMC, Shannon served as counsel at the global law firm Dentons, where she worked with technology companies including Yahoo! and A&E Networks.

“With Saban Brands’ rapid worldwide growth, our business and legal affairs needs have greatly increased,” says Bayer. “Having seasoned and experienced attorneys such as Tim and now Shannon will help support the company and our partners as we continue to expand our global footprint and distribution outlets.”