Antonio Huab joins HIT Ent. as the new vp for Asia. Huab, a 15-year seasoned licensing and marketing exec in the entertainment industry, will be responsible for driving the Asia Pacific consumer products and TV distribution business out of HIT's recently opened office in Hong Kong.
Huab joins HIT from Hutchison Harbour Ring, the licensing agent for Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network's consumer products business where he was deputy gm for Hong Kong, Macau and Greater China. Prior to this, Huab was regional marketing director Asia Pacific with FELD Ent., a Hong Kong-based live events company, where he promoted Disney on Ice Touring Shows across Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Australia.
Huab previously spent 10 years working on Disney brands with his stints at The Walt Disney Co. and Fun Characters Inc., Disney Consumer Products' licensing agent in Manila, Jakarta and Singapore, holding licensing and marketing roles for the region.
"The Asia Pacific region is an important and vital area of growth for HIT's international business," said Peter Byrne, evp International. "From our new base in Hong Kong, we will continue to focus on growing and building worldclass pre-school brands in the region. Huab brings a wealth of experience and local knowledge to the role and we are thrilled he is joining us."
Huab will report to Byrne and Alison Homewood, evp, rights syndication worldwide.
Established in 1989, HIT Ent. (www.hitentertainment.com) is one of the world's leading preschool children's entertainment producers and rights owners. Owned by private equity investment group Apax Partners since June 2005, HIT has operations in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Japan and Hong Kong, the company's activities span television production and distribution, home entertainment, consumer products, publishing and live events. HIT's famous characters include classic global brands, such as BOB THE BUILDER, BARNEY, THOMAS & FRIENDS, PINGU, RUBBADUBBERS and ANGELINA BALLERINA. HIT sells its shows to over 240 territories globally and has operations in the U.K., U.S., Japan and Canada. In 2005, the company joined Comcast Corp., PBS and Sesame Workshop to launch PBS KIDS Sprout, a 24-hour digital cable channel and VOD service for preschoolers.
