(New York, NY) – Leigh Anne Brodsky, President of Nickelodeon Consumer Products has been selected for induction into the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) Licensing Industry Hall of Fame.  The LIMA Licensing Hall of Fame honors licensing industry veterans who have made unique and outstanding contributions to the business.  Brodsky joins a select list of only 36 inductees—including Charles Schulz and Jim Davis, both of whom she worked with earlier in her career—since LIMA began recognizing these giants in 1989.
The induction ceremony will take place on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at the annual LIMA Opening Night Awards Ceremony at Licensing International Expo 2011, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
A licensing professional for more than 25 years, Brodsky has broken new ground in many ways, most notably by popularizing multicultural franchises. One of Brodsky’s biggest professional accomplishments is creating a licensing juggernaut for preschoolers with Nickelodeon’s Latina character, Dora the Explorer.  In 2010, Dora celebrated its 10th anniversary and remains one of the top preschool shows on television and a symbol of empowerment, diversity and education. Starring the world’s most beloved role model for young girls, Dora has been a pioneer for other multicultural preschool properties such as two other popular Nick properties Ni Hao, Kai-Lan and Go, Diego, Go!
“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, The Lone Ranger, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Lassie.

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.
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About LIMA: Founded in 1985, LIMA is the worldwide trade organization for the licensing industry. LIMA’s main objective is to work together with licensors and licensees for the advancement of professionalism in licensing through research, national and international seminars, trade events and publications. With members in 35 countries, offices in New York, London, Munich, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong and representatives in Italy, India, Spain and Eastern Europe, members enjoy access to a wide variety of activities, information and benefits. LIMA is a proud sponsor of the annual Licensing International Expo (Las Vegas), Brand Licensing Europe (London), LiMa Licensing Market (Munich), Day of Licensing (Cologne), Shanghai Licensing Pavilion, Dubai Character Fair, Seoul Character Fair and the Hong Kong Licensing Show. In addition, LIMA offers ways to jump start a career in licensing through its Certificate in Licensing Studies (CLS) program, which is the only educational course specifically designed to prepare professionals to succeed in the ever-changing licensing industry, and the flip (Future LIMA Industry Professionals) program offering support and networking for industry newcomers. For more information please visit www.licensing.org.
About Nickelodeon Consumer Products: Nickelodeon Consumer Products manages the world’s third largest licensing business, representing leading properties such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer, and managing merchandising for Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, MTVN International, and Spike TV.

Nickelodeon, now in its 31st year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).