Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment (SPDE) has aligned its Websites SoapCity and Screenblast with its wireless and platform service units to form the Digital Networks Division to be headed by senior vice president Patrick Kennedy. Kennedy joined SPDE as senior vice president in 2000. Prior to SPDE, he worked in Sony Pictures Entertainment’s corporate development group.

Rich Ross has been named to the newly created post of president, entertainment, Disney Channel, a division of the ABC Cable Networks Group. In his new position, Ross oversees all creative development, programming and production for Disney Channel including the programming, production, advertising and promotion departments. Ross also oversees the new kids' programming block on ABC Family. The fourteen-hour a week programming block premieres Saturday, March 2. Ross was most recently general manager and executive vice president, programming and production, Disney Channel.

Digital artist/designer Ben Orisich has joined New York-based design, production and VFX company Cyclotron. The 25 year-old Orisich comes to Cyclotron from four years at Click 3X in Atlanta where he was senior Inferno artist. Prior to joining Click 3X, he was a freelance artist specializing in compositing, digital effects and editing. Orisich began his career as an intern at WHOA! Films, pursuing interests in compositing, animation and editing. Orisich’s work has won numerous awards, including the Gold BDA International Design Award (2000), an Emmy (1998) and an Addy Gold Award.

New York-based director and designer Jeremy Hollister has signed with London-based creative agency Skunk for worldwide representation. Hollister’s recent projects include creating a show package for the 2001 MTV Movie Awards, idents for MTV2 and ESPN and commissioned work for companies in Hong Kong and Japan. Jeremy has also been recently appointed creative director at design and visual effects house R!OT Design in New York.

Distribution company Salsa Entertainment, a division of TV-Loonland, has moved the headquarters of its distribution operation to its Miami location and made several key promotions including Jerry Diaz to the position of evp. In his new capacity, Diaz becomes the overall manager of Salsa Entertainment, while maintaining his previous responsibilities as head of sales and overseeing all sales, merchandising and distribution of the Salsa catalogue throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Diaz continues to report to president Lisa Hryniewicz. Diaz joined Salsa Entertainment in October 1999.

Gullane Entertainment has promoted Christina Miller to vice president, licensing for the Americas. In her new position, Miller will be responsible for the licensing activity for all Gullane brands in North and South America, including the continuation of her work on THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE. Miller served as head of brand and licensing development at Gullane Entertainment from 1997 to 2001, overseeing product development for THOMAS & FRIENDS in the U.S.

Game publisher NewKidCo International Inc. and Canadian production company CinéGroupe have entered into a long-term strategic alliance to develop titles for Game Boy Advance. The companies plan to launch a minimum of three games per year for three years. While the initial titles will be produced for the Game Boy Advance platform, CinéGroupe president and COO Pierre Bernatchez said the companies expect to expand into developing games for GameCube, PlayStation2 and Xbox.

Cartoon Network UK has appointed Richard Kilgarriff as channel manager and vice president of Cartoon Network UK. Richard Kilgarriff is an award-winning producer with experience in television, film and radio production, marketing and program sales. Previously, he held the position of director of programs for Rapture TV, launched an Internet TV channel, made and sold a variety of television and radio shows and was digital consultant to Microsoft and Channel 5.

Benita Raphan has joined creative agency Blah! Blah! Blah! as a sales representative. Until recently, Benita Raphan was an Inferno artist at New York-based visual effects company Quiet Man. Also a filmmaker, her most recent short film 2+2, co-directed with Clayton Hemmert of New York-based editing house Crew Cuts, will screen at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Her award-winning animation work is also being featured in an episode of the Independent Film Channel Canada's INDIE NATION. Previously, Raphan was an agency creative specializing in animation, special FX and design. Blah! Blah!

As part of Cinar’s restructuring program and in an effort to regain shareholder confidence, the company has appointed Louis Fournier as head of distribution. Cinar had previously employed Fournier for a period of eight years as vice president, sales & co-productions before he joined TVA-International in March 2000 as president of the youth and animation unit. Fournier will assume his new position on January 14, 2002. Fournier brings with him over eighteen years of expertise in the field of children's entertainment in the television and movie industry.

Laurie Goldberg has been promoted from vice president to senior vice president of public relations for Cartoon Network. In addition to overseeing all publicity and public relations activity on behalf of Cartoon Network and sister-channel Boomerang, Goldberg will supervise the national media relations campaign launching the network's first feature film release, THE POWERPUFF GIRLS, scheduled to premiere across the country on July 3, 2002.

Peter Moss is stepping down as president of Cinar Corporation. Moss, who has been with Cinar since March 2000, will be focusing on independent production. He will continue as a consultant to Cinar on creative and production matters. "This has been a very demanding period for Cinar, but I am pleased that we have been able to maintain creative and production excellence through this time," said Moss. "We have brought home prestigious international awards (Emmy, Parent's Choice and Peabody Awards) and delivered three of the top ten shows for pre-school in the U.S.

As a first step in the company’s plan to expand their broadcast design department, R!OT Manhattan has hired Sari Rosen to serve as the broadcast design group’s executive producer. Rosen, an Emmy-winner and former executive producer at Attik and Pittard Sullivan, will manage and grow the department’s creative team and take a leadership role with client relationships and development. Rosen joins R!OT Manhattan from Attik, where she had served as executive producer of its New York office since last year.

Brian Moreno has been named vice president, strategic marketing, Warner Bros. Online. In his new position, Moreno will head the marketing efforts for the division's entertainment Website, as well as oversee Warner Bros. Online's overall strategic partnerships, branding, advertising, promotions and public relations. Moreno joins Warner Bros. Online from Style365.com, an affluent lifestyle Internet portal, where he served as chief marketing officer. Before joining Style365.com, he was executive vice president, worldwide video, Playboy Entertainment Group.

Paul Yanover has been named senior vice president and general manager of The Walt Disney Company's newly formed business unit, Buena Vista Game Entertainment Studio. Yanover will oversee all aspects of operations, including business, creative and product development, and strategic planning for the newly created entity. Yanover's extensive technology and entertainment background includes eight years at The Walt Disney Company in Feature Animation.

Gullane Entertainment has promoted David Jacobs to senior vice president, consumer products for the Americas. Jacobs will now oversee the newly created consumer products division in North and South America. This division encompasses Gullane's licensing, publishing, consumer marketing and live events for such properties as THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE and GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS. Jacobs joined Gullane in 1998 as vice president, group head of U.S. licensing. Prior to joining Gullane, Jacobs spent 11 years with Sesame Workshop, previously Children's Television Workshop.

Jamie Pilgrim has been named to the position of research and development technical director at visual effects house CFX (formerly Centropolis Effects). Pilgrim was most recently a creature technical director on LORD OF THE RINGS and his work included writing proprietary software for muscle systems, tree and branch generation and articulated body dynamics, as well as developing the look for several key particle effects for the film. As lead animator on THE MATRIX, he wrote proprietary Maya plug-ins for procedural animation and animated shots through several sequences.

Gordon Whittaker has been promoted to vice president, chief operating officer of Halifax, Nova Scotia-based Helix Animation Inc. Formerly general manager for the studio, Whittaker has a background in marketing, operations and industry relations and he will be spearheading the marketing and promotional efforts for the company. Since opening in July 1999 Helix has completed layouts and key animation on sixteen episodes of FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE, for imX Communications and Funbag Animation Studios.

New York-based design and visual effects company Fluid has launched a sound design division and added sound designer Fred Szymanski to their team. Szymanski has created sound design and special sound effects for a variety of film and television projects and music videos. He will be creating sound design for commercials exclusively through Fluid. Szymanski and Fluid recently completed sound design and sound enhancement for a series of spots for 6 new Xbox games for McCann/NY client Microsoft.

Tom Hershey has been promoted to senior vice president of operations at Sony Pictures Imageworks, the visual effects and animation division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Hershey's expanded role will now include leadership of console game development at Imageworks. Hershey recently forged a deal with the Institute of Creative Technologies (ICT), a joint venture between the Army branch of the U.S. Military and the University of Southern California (USC). Together with Pandemic Studios, Imageworks is collaborating with ICT to create simulation training programs via immersive technologies.