Casey Kriley and Jo Sharon Named Co-CEOs of Magical Elves

Promotion follows Arthur Smith’s transition from CEO to Chairman of A. Smith and Co.

Casey Kriley, Jo Sharon
Casey Kriley (L), Jo Sharon (R) of Magical Elves

Magical Elves executives Casey Kriley and Jo Sharon have been promoted to co-CEOs of the production company.

“These past six months have only confirmed our instinct that Casey and Jo are the ideal duo to keep Magical Elves firing on all cylinders. Individually, Casey and Jo have each been invaluable contributors to the success of Magical Elves, and together, they are an unstoppable force perfectly equipped to lead their tight-knit team as they produce the next generation of hit shows,” Arthur Smith, the company’s chairman, said in a statement.

“Magical Elves has an incredible legacy that we are privileged to continue with our impossibly talented colleagues,” Kriley and Sharon said. “The magic of the organization has always been the people, and the team is in place and ready to grow our slate of aspirational programming with our signature brand of excellence.”

Kriley was previously the company’s chief operating officer. She joined the company when it was founded in 2001. Previously, she was executive vice president of current programming. Kriley is also credited as a creative executive producer on shows including  “Nailed It!” “Top Chef,” “Project Runway,” “Project Greenlight,” “Top Chef Junior,” “All In With Cam Newton,” “The Real L Word,” “Cleveland Hustles” and “Time of Death.”

Sharon was previously Magical Elves’ chief creative officer and had overseen the company’s slate of projects in development across broadcast, cable and streaming services. She joined Magical Elves in 2010 as vice president of development, and has helped develop projects that include “Nailed It!,” “Sugar Rush” and “Chasing Cameron” for Netflix, “Top Chef Junior” for Universal Kids, “Cold Justice” and “In Defense Of” for Oxygen, “Cleveland Hustles” for CNBC, “All In with Cam Newton” for Nickelodeon, “Time of Death” for Showtime, “Fashion Star” for NBC, and “Gallery Girls” for Bravo. Sharon previously held development positions at Nash Entertainment, Renegade 83 and IMG Entertainment.

Magical Elves co-founders Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth left the company in February.

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