Animation studio ZAG is adding more horsepower to its licensing team, due to the ongoing success of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir.
As part of that growth, ZAG is promoting North American Licensing VP Lisa K. Foster (pictured) to the role of Senior Vice President, Licensing to manage the company’s portfolio of brands under the ZAG Heroez label: an umbrella brand franchise that brings together the superheroes from ZAG’s animated properties.
The announcements were made today by Julian Zag, EVP, Global Operations and Head of Global Consumer Products.
“Lisa is passionate about the Miraculous brand and how fans of all ages want to engage with the stories and characters that we continue to create,” said Zag. “She’s done a phenomenal job identifying and securing best-in-class partners in the U.S. who will start rolling out products this fall and spring 2022. We’re delighted that Lisa will lead our U.S. licensing and merchandising strategies for Miraculous and our newest series, Ghostforce, by working directly with the global team and me.”
Since joining the company in September 2020, Foster has contributed to the over 60 new best-in-class licensing partners for the North America market for Miraculous. In her elevated role, reporting directly to Julian Zag, Foster will continue to develop the licensing strategy for North America for the Miraculous brand, which includes the TV series currently spanning four seasons, with season five in production; the upcoming US$100M+ animated feature film; an as yet unannounced spin-off series; and the company’s newest property to launch, Ghostforce, an original gender-neutral series for kids 6 -10 years old that debuted on Disney XD on October 4.
A toy line for Ghostforce is in the works from ZAG Lab and Playmates.
“The Miraculous brand DNA represents female empowerment and diversity, said Foster. “The timing is optimal for our new products from best-in-class partners to be hitting retail shelves across North America.”
ZAG has also appointed former Disney Consumer Products and MGA Entertainment alum Monique Daggett as Licensing Manager; and Freddie Ordonez as Licensing Attorney.
Daggett is a new hire at ZAG and will be reporting to Foster in her role as Licensing Manager. Prior to her appointment Daggett served as Assistant Licensing Manager at Disney Consumer Products, following her tenure as Associate Licensing Manager at MGAE, working on LOL Surprise, Rainbow High, and Little Tikes. Daggett has also served as a Senior Marketing Specialist at Disguise, following her first industry role as Marketing Coordinator at JAKKS Pacific. Daggett graduated from Pepperdine University with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Public Relations.
Also joining the company is Freddie D. Ordóñez as Content Distribution & Licensing Attorney. Ordóñez continues developing a career focused on entertainment and media, having worked with global industry leaders such as FOX Television, NBC/Telemundo, Turner Broadcasting (now WarnerMedia), and Olympusat, in addition to up-and-coming media start-ups. Ordóñez earned a J.D. from Emory University School of Law and an M.B.A. from the University of Miami. Ordóñez brings this experience to ZAG as the company expands its Legal Department. He will report to the company’ s Senior Vice President, Head of Legal & Litigation, Benjamin C. Johnson.