Vince Klaseus Named President of Universal Brand Development

The exec left Disney studios in spring of 2012

Universal Studios has made Vince Klaseus president of Universal brand development, the company announced on Monday. Klaseus will report directly to Universal head Jeff Shell.

In the newly-created role, Klaseus will develop and implement a long term strategic plan to expand the company’s presence in the family and kids space, including positioning Universal and creating new strategies to build and grow its portfolio of brands and consumer products.

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Klaseus is an ex-Disney marketing executive who left the studio in spring of 2012. He joins Universal from toy company Cartwheel Kids, where he has served as the company’s CEO since December 2012.

“Universal has an enormous opportunity to unify and grow our brands in a way that allows us to capitalize on existing franchises and characters and grow new ones that we can deploy across the NBCUniversal ecosystem.” said Shell. “Vince is one of the best executives in the business at leveraging innovative strategies to create successful products, and he will be a terrific leader for this new division.”

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The studio is getting someone with plenty of experience in the toy department, which is fitting considering the studio’s “Despicable Me” is one of the most popular toylines on the market. Klaseus served as SVP of Global Toys and Hardlines for 12 years and co-founded Cartwheel Kids.

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