London, UK — ViacomCBS Consumer Products (VCP)  named former Hasbro executive Simon Leslie as VP Consumer Products for Southern Europe, Middle East and North Africa (MENA). He will report to Mark Kingston, Senior Vice President, International Licensing of VCP and Thomas Goller, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) Europe, Middle East Africa and Asia (EMEAA). Leslie will split his time between VCNI’s London and Madrid offices.

In this role, Leslie will be responsible for licensing revenues & managing teams across France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East and Africa, which make up a subsection of the newly structured VCP team for EMEAA. He will oversee the retail sales and marketing division across the region, and manage global partnership activity locally with the heads of markets, regions and categories.

Said Kingston, “Simon has comprehensive knowledge of consumer products and the ability to adapt global strategies to local market needs and opportunities, which will help us grow our international presence and support our partners in Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Simon is a stellar addition to the team responsible for these important territories.”

Additionally, Felix Ruoff, VP, Northern & Eastern Europe will manage the licensing business and teams across Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Nordics, Poland, Central Eastern Europe and Russia. Based in Germany, Ruoff will also report to Kingston and Goller. Venetia Davie, Vice President of VCP will continue to lead VCP’s UK, Ireland & Israel business managing the London-based team and reporting to Kingston.

About Simon Leslie:

Leslie joins ViacomCBS Consumer Products with over 20 years of experience in consumer products across Europe and South America in both emerging and mature markets. Most recently, he served as Managing Director at Hasbro Italy, responsible for leading seven functions—consumer products, sales, marketing, trade marketing, finance, human resources and IT. Prior to that, Leslie was Managing Director at Hasbro Chile, Latin America’s most successful market, developing global strategic plans and spearheading all commercial functions, human resources, finance and operations. He also built Hasbro’s core brand market presence at Hasbro Portugal, after moving up the ranks at Hasbro U.K.

ViacomCBS Consumer Products:

ViacomCBS Consumer Products (VCP) oversees all licensing and merchandising for ViacomCBS Inc. (Nasdaq: VIACA, VIAC), a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Driven by iconic consumer brands, VCP’s portfolio includes a diverse slate of brands and content from BET, CBS (including CBS Television Studios and CBS Television Distribution), Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and Showtime. With properties spanning animation, live-action, preschool, youth and adult, VCP is committed to creating the highest quality product for some of the world’s most beloved, iconic franchises. Additionally, VCP oversees the direct-to-consumer online business for CBS’ programming merchandise, as well as standalone SpongeBob, MTV, Star Trek and Showtime branded ecommerce websites.