TORONTO — Corus Entertainment has appointed former Teletoon executive Athena Georgaklis as the new head of development for the company’s Nelvana children’s animation studio.
In her new role, Georgaklis will lead the acquisition of rights and the development of all original content for Nelvana, working with the studio’s producers, creators and talent around the world, Corus said in a news release to announce the appointment.
Effective immediately, Georgaklis now reports to Nelvana president Scott Dyer and will be working closely with Pam Westman, recently appointed as head of Nelvana Enterprises.
“We are delighted to welcome Athena to this role,” Dyer said in the news release. “Athena joins our team with an exceptional international reputation built on her keen eye for animation and her breadth of knowledge and experience in the industry.”
Georgaklis has worked in Canadian broadcast and production for more than 19 years. During her time at Corus Entertainment’s Teletoon network, Georgaklis oversaw all original productions, supervising the development and production of Canadian content in both English and French. She led the production and development of hit shows such as Johnny Test, Knuckleheads (English and French), Fugget About It (English and French), Atomic Puppet, Rocket Monkeys, and the Total Drama Island franchise.
“I’m thrilled to be joining Nelvana at this time of growth for the studio,” Georgaklis said in the news release. “I’ve admired this studio’s work for decades and look forward to developing premium kids content that we can distribute around the world.”
Georgaklis will continue to be based out of Corus’s Montreal office, but will also have a continued presence at the company’s Corus Quay Headquarters in Toronto.
