By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Simon Philips, one of the licensing industry’s most accomplished executives, has joined the board of experiential entertainment company Falcon’s Beyond Global.
Among his many accomplishments, Philips served as president of Marvel Entertainment International, where he was a member of the leadership team that helped build Marvel into a retail powerhouse and paved the way for its sale to Disney.
Philips currently serves as Managing Director, Global Consumer Products at Moonbug Entertainment, the company behind red hot digital-first properties like CoComelon and Blippi.
That experience was seen as key at Falcon’s Beyond, an experiential entertainment company that has created immersive entertainment and educational environments for world-renowned organizations like National Geographic Museum, SeaWorld Orlando, Atlantis Sanya, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Kennedy Space Center, MOTIONGATE Dubai, IMG Worlds of Adventure, and many others.
The company says Philips’ experience in turning licensed properties into consumer product powerhouses is seen as key to help drive the unique entertainment and consumer product synergies at Falcon’s existing and upcoming entertainment properties, now Falcon’s deploying its 360° IP Expander model around the globe.
“Having Simon Philips join the team is an undeniable testament to our vision,” said Cecil Magpuri, CEO of Falcon’s Beyond. “Falcon’s goes way back with Simon, starting with major Marvel projects in Korea and Dubai, and he understands that great storytelling is at the heart of everything we do. Simon brings over 30 years of incomparable experience and insight to the game. Again and again, he has proven his ability to see the future of global entertainment. Incredible things are on the horizon.”
Philips also joins the board at a critical time, as Falcon has announced two key projects in the entertainment and hospitality sectors. In September 2021, Falcon’s announced Curiosity Playground, a new experiential edutainment venue that will bring to life multiple iconic properties, such as Dinosaur Train, SuperWHY!, Odd Squad™,and Wild Kratts. Curiosity Playground will be built in multiple locations, still to be announced.
In December 2021, Falcon’s and global hotel company Meliá Hotels International announced its plans to develop a world-class theme park and premier entertainment, dining, and retail destination in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, as seen in the photo at top.
Philips says he chose to join the Falcon board as he sees an exciting shift in the way content is consumed and engaged with by kids, and wants to take his know-how to Falcon’s Beyond as it leads the industry into the future. He describes that shift as a 360° engagement with story across the entire transmedia spectrum.
“Falcon’s Beyond is playing in an unlimited sandbox,” said Philips. “We have the IPs and we can create, distribute, and optimize content across many platforms simultaneously. As we develop multiple touchpoints, we can rapidly grow a very successful consumer products program. Then we have the unmatched opportunity to take all of that into immersive theme park spaces around the globe, at unprecedented speed. This transmedia superpower sets Falcon’s Beyond apart from its competition. No one else can do what Falcon’s Beyond can. It’s disruptive, it’s progressive. Falcon’s represents the future of engagement in IP.”
That future, the company says, is based on its 360° IP Expander model, which creates multiple touchpoints for fans to engage with their favorite characters and stories. The company brings its own proprietary and its partner IPs to global markets through owned and operated theme parks, resorts, attractions, patented technologies, feature films, episodic series, consumer products, licensing, and beyond. The company has won numerous design awards and provided design services in 39 countries around the world, turning imagined worlds into reality.