Apr 16, 2019

Amir Nasrabadi has been appointed EVP/GM of DHX's Vancouver Animation Studio

Veteran animation industry executive Amir Nasrabadi has been appointed by DHX Media as executive vice president and general manager of its animation studio in Vancouver, Canada.

This is a newly created role in which Nasrabadi will oversee all animation production at the studio. In his role as evp and gm, effective June 10, 2019, he will be leading the animation team in Vancouver working closely with DHX Media's creative, content, and brands teams. Nasrabadi will report to DHX Media president Josh Scherba.

DHX Media's Vancouver studio currently employs approximately 500 animation workers.The studio produced 1,800 minutes of animation content last year, including both 2d and cg series such as The Deep, Mega Man: Fully Charged, Carmen Sandiego, Peabody & Sherman, The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, as well as its first feature film, My Little Pony: The Movie.

The studio is currently working on new Peanuts animation for Apple TV Plus, as well as Netflix's Chip and Potato for Netflix, Blaze and the Monster Machines for Nickelodeon, and Dorg Van Dango for Nickelodeon Int'l with Cartoon Saloon.

For over 20 years, Nasrabadi has worked in production, operations, finance and strategy in the animation and visual effects industry. His most recent role was as evp of finance and operations for Illumination Entertainment. There, Nasrabadi was in charge of all aspects of operations, IT, finance, planning, competitive and industry analysis, and business development.

Prior to Illumination, Nasrabadi worked for Paramount Animation as svp of production. Before that position, he spent 15 years at Walt Disney Studios, where he was vp of fnance and operations for Disneytoon Studios, and then in 2009, launched and oversaw Pixar's short-lived studio in Vancouver. This pre-existing relationship with the animation industry in Vancouver gives him a particularly important advantage in his new job at DHX Media. As vp and general manager of Pixar Canada, Nasrabadi not only oversaw all production at the studio, but also represented the brand to the creative community, as well as local and provincial government and industry leaders.

“As a well-known and respected figure in the animation community, who brings a wealth of industry experience, Amir is an ideal executive to lead the talented team at our Vancouver animation studio,” said Scherba in a statement. “We believe Amir's history as head of Pixar Canada in Vancouver, as well as his time in management with Illumination, Paramount, and Disney will deliver tremendous value to our business. We couldn't be more delighted that Amir is coming back to Vancouver, and we look forward to welcoming him to the DHX Media team.”

“Vancouver is such a fantastic city for animation and I am thrilled to be joining DHX Media to be part of the exciting work being done at their world-class studio,” said Nasrabadi.