LIMA announces the appointment of five new members to its Board of Directors – Mike Brown, Vice President, Licensing and Partnership Management, American Greetings; Marilu Corpus, President and Chief Executive Officer, CLICK! Licensing Asia, Inc.; Paul Flett, Brand Management and Licensing Agent, United Talent Agency; Christian Fortmann, Managing Partner, 24 IP Law Group; and Darran Garnham, Chief Business Development Officer, Mind Candy. The five executives were elected to three-year terms to begin on July 1, 2013.

“As LIMA continues its mission of expanding the success of the worldwide licensing business, we look to industry professionals with a variety of expertise to ensure we have outstanding contributors from all sides of the business,” said LIMA President Charles Riotto. “Mike, Marilu, Paul, Christian and Darran each possess distinctive qualities and a unique perspective that will make them invaluable to our Board of Directors and the overall organization. We look forward to all the great things LIMA can accomplish with the addition of our newest Board members.”

A longstanding member of LIMA, Brown has served as Vice President of Licensing and Partnership Management at American Greetings in Cleveland, OH since 2005. Managing all the Social Expression content needs of the company, he oversees rights acquisitions for intellectual property opportunities in North America, the United Kingdom (U.K.), Australia and New Zealand. Brown joined American Greetings in 1999 as Vice President of Licensing for Inbound and Outbound Licensing after an extensive career with positions at Western Publishing, Beach Products, Contempo Colors and Keebler.

Corpus returns to the LIMA Board after having served from 2007­-2010. With 29 years of international licensing and marketing experience, she is one of the industry’s most respected and knowledgeable executives for licensing in Asian markets. In 1998, Corpus founded Click! Licensing Asia in the Philippines, and has turned the award-winning company into one of the leading licensing agencies in Asia – managing properties that range from lifestyle and entertainment to educational brands. The company has additional offices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Flett brings to the LIMA Board 25 years of experience in media, licensing, consumer marketing and sales. Currently the Brand Management and Licensing Agent for the United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills, CA, he manages existing brands, acquires and develops new ones and develops international opportunities for the agency’s talent roster. Prior to joining United Talent Agency, Flett was the Senior Vice President of Licensing for Skechers USA Inc. During his three-year tenure there, he expanded the licensee base from five to 58 licensees, established a global agent network, and executed a major strategic alliance with the world’s largest sourcing company, Li & Fung. During his extensive career, Flett has held senior positions at Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Munchkin Inc., Sega Europe, Mattel, L’Oréal and Nestle.

Based in Munich, Germany, Fortmann holds a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in Intellectual Property Litigation from Nottingham Trent University in the U.K., which has provided him with insights into the legal system of the Anglo-American IP world. His broad-based experience has made him a preferred partner for colleagues from all parts of the world to support them in the protection and licensing of their IP rights in Germany and Europe.  Fortmann has been an active member of LIMA Germany for over 12 years, and, more recently, has been active in the U.S. and U.K. in various functions, including as a speaker and panelist in conferences and webinars. 

Garnham is in charge of developing and implementing Mind Candy’s global licensing strategy and has extensive experience in IP management across a wide variety of mediums – TV, film, entertainment and lifestyle brands.  Based in London, he currently manages the global off-line expansion of Mind Candy’s Moshi Monsters brand and is an expert in international product distribution and manufacturing opportunities. Prior to joining Mind Candy, Garnham was responsible for establishing and managing a network of offices throughout 22 countries in Eastern Europe and CIS for Kidz Entertainment, where he managed a portfolio of licensing rights for brands such as 20th Century Fox, BBC Worldwide, DreamWorks, Lego, Paramount and Sony.

Returning to the Board of Directors are Chairperson Maura Regan (Sesame Workshop), Vice-Chairperson Rick Van Brimmer (The Ohio State University), Ciáran Coyle (Beanstalk UK), Dell Furano (Epic Rights, LLC), Elias Hofman (Exim Licensing), Susie Lecker (Fisher Price), Marty Malysz (Dependable Solutions), Sara Nemerov (Warner Music Group), Carla Peyton (BBC Worldwide Americas), Jennifer Richmond (Richmond Management Group), James Slifer (The Joester Loria Group), Cheryl Stoebenau (CAS Marketing) and Peter Yoder (Cartoon Network Enterprises). Greg Battersby of The Battersby Law Group remains General Counsel.

LIMA Board members whose terms expire this year are Liz Kalodner (CBS Consumer Products), Bettina Koeckler (20th Century Fox), Peter Boder (United Labels, AG) and Charles Schnaid (Miller, Kaplan, Arase & Co.).