Gaumont has brought on board Courtney Arumugam, former executive at The Bright Agency, as VP of creative development of animation and family. Opening a London office last year, this appointment takes place, as the company aims to ramp up its presence in the U.K. and beyond.
The film company is pursuing its strategy to expand the development and production of kids content in key countries throughout Europe, under the supervision of Gaumont animation and family president Nicolas Atlan.
Arumugam will be based in London and will focus on the European market. She will also work in close collaboration with Kimberly Dennison, the vice president of creative development at Gaumont’s U.S. office.
Prior to joining Gaumont, Arumugam served as senior creative executive and headed the banner’s newly launched in-house film and TV division at The Bright Agency. She also spent several years at Mattel where she developed animated and live action content based on original and existing IP.
Commenting on this appointment, Gaumont senior VP of creative development of animation and family Terry Kalagian said, “Arumugam is a great addition to our team, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge across development, animation and the kids’ space in general.”
Gaumont’s production slate in terms of animation and family programmes includes the recently-greenlit Do, Re & Mi, a new Amazon Original for preschoolers featuring original tracks performed by executive producers and creators Kristen Bell (Frozen) and Jackie Tohn (Glow); and Bionic Max, created and directed by Thomas Digard, with France’s Gulli.
The company is also developing series based on the New York Times bestselling author Julian Lennon and Bart Davis’s books Touch the Earth and Heal the Earth; another one based on Stan Sakai’s comic book series Usagi Yojimbo. Gaumont is also developing High in the Clouds, an animated feature based on Paul McCartney and Philip Ardagh’s book with the illustrator Geoff Dunbar on board.