To become a world-leading agency takes world-class talent, and WildBrain CPLG is proud to count some of the licensing industry’s brightest and best among its alumni. As the company continues to celebrate turning 50, LicensingSource.net catches up with five of them to find out what made their time memorable at the agency, which, prior to 2019, was called simply CPLG.
Susan Bolsover, md/founder, Lightbulb Licensing
“Like a considerable proportion of the UK licensing industry, I had my time at the ‘Licensing University’ that was CPLG, having joined in 2003 as publishing manager and left in 2013 as European publishing director – and what a brilliant time it was! I was fortunate enough to work alongside some of the best people in the UK and European licensing industry and learnt so much that I’ve been able to use throughout my career.
Working in the publishing category often put me in direct contact with the production teams who were bringing to life the films and TV shows that we were representing. I had the opportunity to be on calls with the likes of Illumination founder Chris Meledandri [Minions] and JJ Abrams [Lost and Star Trek], which felt like such a privilege.
CPLG was so full of memorable moments that it’s hard to pick a standout, although persuading CBS to send out a press release in Klingon for one of the Haynes manuals was a bit bonkers, as was having dinner with Elmo, and going to a primary school with John Cena to talk about reading to kids. I think lots of my friends and family thought I didn’t have a ‘real’ job.”
Steve Manners, head of global marketing and UK managing director, Licensing International
“I originally joined CPLG as UK managing director in the early 2000s, then returned as vp business development in 2010, remaining for 11 years. My role was to secure new representation for the group and, together with my business development team and the territory offices, work with major brand owners on the strategy and development of their licensing programmes.
We had really fantastic teams across the various markets and went through major expansion over the years I was there. I was fortunate to work with great ceos, including the late Chris Protheroe, then Peter Byrne and Maarten Weck, who has really led the company to incredible heights. Added to that, we were fortunate to represent some really amazing brands and I loved seeing consumer products programmes develop.
There were so many highlights, but two stand out. When I was first at CPLG as UK md, we represented the Mr. Men. The Hargreaves Organisation was a joy to work with and we celebrated a major milestone for the brand with a fabulous dinner with all the Hargreaves family, who we always felt very close to. The second is Minions – there hadn’t been an appetite from licensees or retailers for Despicable Me prior to the movie opening, but the Minions captured the public’s imagination and created so much desire for consumer products. It was by far the largest licensing programme I’d ever worked on.”
Vickie O’Malley, managing director, Rockpool Licensing
“CPLG changed my life! I was at Hasbro and worked closely with LucasFilm on the retail execution of the Star Wars reboot. Tim Wills introduced me to Kirk Bloomgarden and Steve Manners, and before I knew it, I joined as retail director. The world of licensing opened up before me and it felt like coming home.
I was with CPLG for 12 years all told, 10 of them as UK md. I’m grateful not only for my break into the industry but also for the lifelong friendships made, the laughter, the spectacular anecdotes, the belief shown in me and the opportunity to forge my own path.
I’m most proud of the impact we were able to make as a team and the way we built a reputation for expertise, credibility and strategic thinking in rights and partnership management… and having the best time while doing it!”
Katarina Dietrich, entrepreneur
“Congratulations to all at WildBrain CPLG on the 50th anniversary of this fantastic company. Back in the 1990s, the founders David Cardwell and Richard Culley had the vision to open offices across Europe, an innovative move and the foundation of the current 20+ CPLG offices around the world. It was a very entrepreneurial strategy and worked because of the drive, trust, engagement and, most of all, the brilliant team spirit of everyone involved.
My fondest memories of my time as ceo are about the people driving the business, and how we were united by a common goal. We had the privilege to work directly with creative geniuses like George Lucas, Charles M. Schulz, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Roger and Adam Hargreaves, to name a few. Those meetings, naturally very well prepared for, were always thrilling and exciting. We did countless pitches to potential licensors, sometimes we won and sometimes not, but we never lost our love for our business.”
Adrienne ‘Scottie’ Mirviss, solicitor/attorney-at-law
“I joined CPLG as the director of legal affairs following a management buy out in 2002. As sole legal counsel of what was then a much smaller company, I was involved in everything, from the agency and licence agreements to leases, HR, corporate secretarial, PR, financing, branding – whatever needed a legal eye.
Over the years of my tenure, the Force was with us, we Lived Long and Prospered, surfed the yellow Minions tide, got kicked around by Donkey from Shrek and climbed the Spider-Man heights; we saw clients (and staff!) leave, come back, merge; and we went from a flat, structured European entity to grow into a multi-layered international company. It was a blast. I learnt so much about the industry and all aspects of running a business. It was terrific representing (or sparring with and learning from) many of the legal greats, and it was a true joy to have led a brilliant legal team that continue to inspire with their positivity, good humour and hard work.”
This feature originally appeared in the autumn 2024 edition of Licensing Source Book. To read the full publication, click on this link.
