Anna Berthold-Zuk Joins Stampede Ventures As EVP, Animation And Kids & Family

EXCLUSIVE: Former UTA agent Anna Berthold-Zuk has joined Stampede Ventures as Executive Vice President of Animation and Kids & Family, the company’s President Chris Bosco announced on Thursday.

In her new role, Berthold-Zuk will guide Stampede’s existing kids & family initiatives and oversee expansion in this space as she continues to build out additional creator-driven ventures aimed at launching new franchises. Additionally, she will work to find ways to overcome current hurdles in the kids & family business by building out strategic ventures necessary to support the launch of said franchises in the wake of continual constriction within the industry.

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Berthold-Zuk’s appointment bolsters Stampede’s ability to expand its Kids & Family reach in tandem with their existing ventures including Mo Willems’s Hidden Pigeon Company with RedBird Capital Partners and HappyNest Entertainment, a co-venture with UTA, which Berthold-Zuk helped put together. Looking ahead, she will work closely with Sadaf Cohen Muncy, as well as HappyNest and their franchise partners. She will also continue to work with a number of her UTA clients through various projects and entities now set up within the Stampede Ventures family including influencers Paris Hilton and Jenna Bush Hager, YouTube sensation Gracie’s Corner, creators Chris Nee, Chris Viscardi and Tiffany Ford, and filmmakers Brad Graeber and Erik Benson.

“Now more than ever the kids and family sector is breaking free from conventional distribution and franchise-building norms. Stampede Ventures embraces the current industry shifts as opportunities, and as an agile independent studio, is poised to pioneer new approaches to financing and production,” Berthold-Zuk told Deadline. “The team’s innovative spirit aligns perfectly with my vision to elevate kids & family content to new heights and I’m thrilled to join a team that supports artists in launching their projects outside the confines of traditional studio systems.”

Stated Stampede’s President, Bosco, “As we expand our footprint in the animation and kids & family space, we’re thrilled to welcome Anna Berthold-Zuk, one of the most forward-thinking minds in entertainment, to join Stampede Ventures and help our portfolio companies. She is a deeply skilled individual with an advantageous understanding of the progressively evolving sector, setting us up for further success.”

Over the course of her career of nearly two decades, Berthold-Zuk has amassed a unique expertise on both the creative and business side of animation across film, television and digital media. Previously, she was at UTA for over a decade where she served as a Motion Picture Literary Agent and was part of the founding team of UTA Animation.

During her time at UTA, the agency came to boast the largest roster of animation clients across all talent agencies. During her time there, she was part of the team that repped Bluey creator Joe Brumm, Peabody-, NAACP- and Emmy-winning creator Chris Nee (Doc McStuffins), Oscar-winning animation legend Glen Keane (Over the Moon), Alessandro Carloni (Kung Fu Panda) and writer-turned-director Erica Rivinoja (Trolls). Berthold-Zuk also represented such animation production studios and producers as Rough Draft Studios (Disenchantment), Brad Graeber of Powerhouse Animation (Castlevania) and The Jim Henson Company, among others.

Welcoming former UTA Partner Jim Meenaghan as its COO and General Counsel earlier this month, Stampede Ventures is a global media company with an eye on launching next-generation franchises. Founded by Greg Silverman, Gideon Yu and Jaeson Ma, the company’s previously put out the Mo Willems children’s special Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed:The Underground Rock Experience and recently announced Paris & Pups, a new animated series produced by Paris Hilton.

Other recent releases for the company outside of the arenas of animation and kids & family content include Lionsgate’s Ordinary Angels starring Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson, the Emmy-nominated documentary The Saint of Second Chances, and the YA feature Pink Skies Ahead, starring Jessica Barden. Currently prepping projects like the Alan Ritchson starrer Motor City and Chasing Red, the company is in production on Anderson .Paak’s directorial debut K-POPS! and The Fisherwoman starring Emma Thompson. Other upcoming films include Space Cadet, starring Emma Roberts, which will be unveiled this summer.

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