Universal Studios licensing exec Tim Rothwell is headed over to Marvel Enterprises to be president of its worldwide consumer products group. Rothwell will be overseeing Marvels core licensing and merchandising division, the companys principal source of profit and cash flow. His immediate directives from Marvel ceo Allen Lipson are to develop Marvels international licensing business and strengthen retailer relationships, which Marvel sees as underdeveloped areas with huge growth potential for the company.
During his tenure at Universal, Rothwell managed the studios merchandising licensing, marketing, creative and retail development initiatives in all product categories for North America, South America and Australia. He helped develop domestic and international programs for mega-brands JURASSIC PARK, ET, THE CAT IN THE HAT and the THE HULK MOVIE. The licensing guru helped turn Universal consumer products into a $1 billion business at the retail level.
Marvel is particularly happy with Rothwells performance for Universal and Marvel on THE HULK franchise with more than 300 licensees in the program, encompassing 1,000+ products. Many HULK licensees report revenues in excess of the initial minimum guarantees, according to a Marvel release.
Lipson said, Tim will play a large role in taking our already strong licensing team to the next level. We had the honor of working with Tim for over a year on THE HULK movie, and quickly realized that he possesses the ideal skill set, experience, initiative and dedication to be a key contributor in Marvels senior management team. We are fully confident that his relationships with key retailers and top manufacturers in all segments of consumer products will drive our licensing efforts to new levels.
Prior to Universal, Rothwell worked in the apparel industry for such company companies as Cherokee Apparel Co., VF Corp. and Mamiye Brothers Co.
Future movie projects for Rothwell include the final installment of the LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY, SPIDER-MAN 2, THE PUNISHER, BLADE 3 and THE FANTASTIC FOUR.
