Leigh Anne Brodsky, the president of Nickelodeon Consumer Products and a pioneer in popularizing such multicultural properties as Dora the Explorer, has been named to the Licensing Industry Hall of Fame.
Brodsky will be inducted into the hall of fame — which has only inducted 35 members since its founding in 1985 — at a ceremony set for June 14 at the Licensing International Expo 2011 in Las Vegas.
“Leigh Anne Brodsky represents the best of our industry with her passion for bringing people of all ages together through characters and products that entertain, enlighten, and become part of our shared cultural experience,” said Charles Riotto, president of LIMA. “Her dedication and commitment to our industry and her service to our organization is exemplary and she has tirelessly led our charitable efforts. For all of her accomplishments, we are proud to honor Leigh Anne by inducting her into the Licensing Industry Hall of Fame.”
Brodsky is known as a visionary who understands the marketplace and builds successful merchandising plans that maximize potential. She spearheaded the development and growth of SpongeBob SquarePants, turning it into a licensing legend and megabrand. Additionally, Brodsky was also responsible for building the Rugrats and Blues Clues properties into huge successes.
Under Brodsky’s leadership, Nickelodeon has garnered more than 35 industry awards including top licensing and Parent’s Choice honors in the toy, video, interactive gaming and apparel categories. In 2003, she was named Entertainment Marketer of the Year by Advertising Age. And in the past few years, Brodsky broke new ground, licensing her properties to healthy food categories, ranging from clementines to frozen edamame.
Earlier in her career, while at United Media, Brodsky made her mark on the Snoopy licensing business via partnerships with flagship companies including Hallmark. She built the Garfield licensing program into a multi-billion dollar retail property globally including American Greetings, Ballantine Books and Random House. At Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video, she developed a variety of consumer products and retail programs for iconic television and movie properties like Saturday Night Live and its big screen spinoff Wayne’s World.
A passionate children’s advocate, Brodsky is a former member of LIMA’s board of directors and continues to co-chair LIMA’s Charity Committee. Under her leadership, LIMA’s ambitious five-year, one million dollar fundraising goal to benefit the Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation was achieved in less than three years. She is an active board member of the TIA and CBTF.
Candidates for the LIMA Licensing Hall of Fame must demonstrate continual and outstanding contributions to the licensing industry. Consideration is given to those who have been actively involved in the business of licensing for a minimum of 10 years and whose contributions have ongoing relevance to the industry.
