PorchLight Entertainment has tapped Caren Shalek to serve as senior VP, consumer products with instructions to build an expanded consumer product representation business focusing on children’s and family brands, COO William Baumann announced.
Shalek will open PorchLight’s first New York office, launching from a base of established properties such as Jay Jay The Jet Plane, Tutenstein and Four Eyes. PorchLight has also recently acquired representation to other significant brands including New Macdonald’s Farm and Benjamin Bear. The company has made moves on the marketing front, commencing an extensive promotional campaign for its PBS series, Jay Jay The Jet Plane, which will entail a 35-city air show tour across the U.S., an exhibition with the Orlando Science Center in 2006 and possibly the arrival of Jay-Jay activities centers at national airports.
A veteran of the consumer products and licensing industry, Caren Shalek brings a diverse background to PorchLight’s team, having worked in product development, marketing, design and production. She has arrived at PorchLight after a five-year stint as vice president, consumer products with Mattel/Fisher-Price. Previously she held the position of group vice president of licensing for North America and product development worldwide at Children’s Television Workshop, where she applied her efforts to Sesame Street.
PorchLight already has a strong team set up at the Los Angeles office, consisting of Rene Rodman, director, licensing and marketing, Jeffrey Engelen, director of international licensing and Sarah M. Senechal, marketing and licensing coordinator.
