Revolving Door

Originally published in the Feb. 1, 2024 edition of The Weekly Briefing

Corus Entertainment has announced restructuring of its Original Content leadership team, resulting in two internal promotions and the departure of three studio executives. Starting Feb. 1, Rachel Nelson will assume the dual role of Vice President, Original Programming and Head of Corus Studios, while Mellany Welsh has been appointed Vice President and Head of Nelvana. Those departing the company include Lisa Godfrey, Senior Vice President of Original Programming and Corus Studios, whose role has been eliminated. Godfrey has been with the company for 24 years, including serving as Head of Original Content for Shaw Communications. Pam Westman retires from her role as President of Nelvana after five years, while Jeff Norton, Head of Waterside Studios, will also leave the company Feb. 29. Both Norton and Westman will continue in a consulting capacity to support the transition. Read more here.

Harvard Media has made a series of internal promotions as the company continues its digital-first evolution. Announced earlier this month, the internal promotions are led by John Jordan, who adds Chief Product Officer to his title, in addition to retaining his current role as Chief Digital Officer. Danny Kid has been elevated to the role of Vice President of Local Media, overseeing Harvard’s Cruz branded stations and Regina’s 104.9 The Wolf (CFWF-FM). Zoe Vassos, who has held various promotions and marketing roles over the last 13 years, has been promoted to Director of Experiences, as the company strategically restructures its product teams “for a more impactful market presence.” Kris Mazurak joins the company as the new Director of Local Media & Experience Products, arriving from Stingray Calgary, where he was a Marketing Consultant. Madison Sabourin is promoted to Director of Excelerate and Interactive Products. Sabourin has been with Harvard just nine months and moves up from a Customer Success role. Kim Carson, a longtime Promotions Coordinator at X92.9 (CFEX-FM) Calgary, among other stations, is upped to Director of Audience & Product Marketing. Alex Smith has been promoted to Director of Growth. Read more here.

Jim Haskins, the News Director and Station Manager at Global Edmonton, has retired. Haskins joined Global Edmonton in the fall of 2017 after holding the same role at Global Halifax for five years. Prior to joining Corus Entertainment, Haskins worked in sales and marketing with CBC in Alberta. He’d also served as a Vice President & General Manager with Craig Media, helping launch A-Channel Edmonton and Calgary.

Daniel Perras has retired from CPAC (Cable Public Affairs Channel) after 28 years with the company. Perras had been a Production Coordinator with CPAC since 1996.

Rachel Gilmore is joining Washington, D.C.-based ad tech industry watchdog Check My Ads. Gilmore was among the national online reporters caught up in a round of layoffs at Global News in March of last year.

“Tarzan Dan” Freeman returns to national network radio on Monday, Feb. 5 as the new host of middays on iHeartRadio Canada’s BOUNCE Radio stations. Freeman departs Stingray’s XL103 (CFXL-FM) Calgary and boom 97.3 (CHBM-FM) Toronto. He’d been helming weekends on boom since mid-October and filling in on XL103 since talent layoffs at Corus Radio’s former Q107 (CFGQ-FM) Calgary in late 2022 as it flipped to news/talk. Read more here.

Forman (aka Andrew Gordon) has departed Melody & Forman in the Morning on Halifax’s Hot Country 103.5 (CKHZ-FM). Forman, who also handled APD duties, has been with the station since July 2021. Prior to joining Hot Country, he had served as the midday host and imaging producer at BX93 (now Pure Country, CJBX-FM) London for almost a decade. Forman has moved back to Ontario to be closer to family and is available for voiceover, production and on-air work.

Shaun Alperin has been named Head of Content at Prime Video Canada, assuming the role from Nav Saini, who had held the title for the last two and a half years. Alperin has been with Prime Video and Amazon Studios since 2020, most recently as Principal, Content Acquisition.

Archita Ghosh has joined Montreal’s Rezolution Pictures as its first President. The former co-founder and CFO of animation studio E.D. Films, Ghosh’s mandate is to lead, craft, and execute a strategic plan to elevate Rezolution as a production house. The company says she will also bring her animation savvy to the business, developing Indigenous and culturally-driven animated projects for Rezolution’s slate.

Tara Long has been appointed President of Global Unscripted Television at Blink49 Studios, a Fifth Season backed company. In addition, Ri-Karlo Handy has been tapped as Senior Vice President, Unscripted. Based in Los Angeles, Long will report to CEO John Morayniss, and will lead the charge in shaping the company’s U.S. unscripted television slate. Additionally, she’ll assume responsibility for managing the Global unscripted division including ongoing Canadian operations. Under the new global structure, Toby Dormer, Executive Vice President and Handy will report to Long, while Allison Brough, Vice President will continue to report to Dormer. The new role reunites Long with Morayniss, with whom she collaborated at eOne for over 10 years.