Key Stateside Crunchyroll Talent Joins UK's Anime Limited in Expansion Move

Date: 2021 April 15 20:46

Posted by Joe

The good folks at anime distributors Anime Limited have just sent us details of their new hire and key leadership promotion.

The anime firm have announced that they've hired Miles Thomas as their new Chief Marketing Officer. Miles was previously at the anime streaming giants Crunchyroll for 8 years making waves as he expanded their social media network and setup the Editorial Programming department. He brings his industry and domain knowledge to an already strong firm.

Internally there's been a bit of a restructure with Jessica Poce having also been appointed Chief Operating Officer and Kerry Kasim has been promoted from her position as VP Marketing to the role of General Manager, UK and Ireland.

The details of the expansion plan aren't fully explained in the press release, they hint at expanding to other territories and verticals. Reading in-between the lines we're guessing they intend to expand their music offerings and maybe their streaming services, but we're just inferring this from their press release.

It's interesting to see the next stage in the anime industry as Manga Entertainment fades away as it gets absorbed into Funimation, which in turn also owns Crunchyroll.

Anime Limited has always had excellently presented releases. Their collectors and ultimate editions always contain a ton of extra content and are fantastically packaged (we're eager to get our hands on their upcoming release of Violet Evergarden). They've also always been good at cinema releases, bringing Your Name and Mirai to name a few to the big screens. Anime Limited have also gone the extra mile at events as they tend to bring guests from Japan to events like the MCM London Comic Con. We hope they continue with these core strengths as they expand and are interested to see what they've got planned.

Full Story

Press release as follows:

ANIME LIMITED STRENGTHENS GLOBAL POSITION WITH CMO HIRE, KEY LEADERSHIP PROMOTIONS

Anime Limited welcomes Miles Thomas as new Chief Marketing Officer

GLASGOW, April 14th, 2021 - Anime Limited, a leading independent entertainment distribution company founded in 2012, has named award-winning entertainment industry veteran Miles Thomas (most recently at Crunchyroll) to a new global role as its Chief Marketing Officer, as well as promoting Jessica Poce to the role of Chief Operating Officer and Kerry Kasim to the role of General Manager, United Kingdom and Ireland. With an upgraded leadership team, Anime Limited's impact on the global anime scene, with both home video and music distribution as well as merchandising, will expand at an even greater rate than before.



Miles Thomas was previously the Director for Community Marketing at Crunchyroll, a top 10 SVOD service recently valued at $1.2 billion. During his 8 years with the streamer, he expanded Crunchyroll's social media network to become one of the largest within WarnerMedia's portfolio and founded the Editorial Programming department. Both his growth-focused perspective and entrepreneurial spirit will be right at home at Anime Limited. Thomas's prior efforts received accolations from The Drum, The Shorty Awards, The Webby Awards, and The Eddie and Ozzie Awards, in addition to winning Digiday's "Best Social Media Team" in 2019.

As Chief Marketing Officer, Miles Thomas will utilise his experience building industry-leading marketing teams and developing audiences for hit properties like JUJUTSU KAISEN, Black Clover, and Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World to support Anime Limited's expansion into new territories and verticals.

"This is the perfect time to welcome someone like Miles with such a wide understanding of anime across the world and a global expertise in the field to Anime Limited as we gear up for the next phase of our growth and expansion including that of our music label worldwide." said Andrew Partridge, Anime Limited's CEO. Thomas will also serve as a key member of Anime Limited's senior leadership team.

"Anime Limited is the most exciting publisher in the industry," said Thomas. "At a time of unprecedented media consolidation, there's a greater need than ever for prestige brands with specialized expertise that deliver unparalleled quality to consumers. Anime has never been more popular, and I couldn't be more excited to help export Anime Limited's stellar reputation as Western Europe's favorite distributor around the world."

Anime Limited is responsible for bringing some of the best in original story anime film to the UK cinemas, previously underserved beyond Studio Ghibli films and the larger franchise titles. Beginning with the international sensation Your Name by Makoto Shinkai, Anime Limited have maintained theatrical success and variety in film to include Academy Award nominated Mirai by Mamorou Hosoda and most recently Weathering With You.

Thomas received his Bachelors of Science in Managerial and Agricultural Economics from the University of California, Davis.



Jessica Poce has also been appointed Chief Operating Officer from her previously held position as General Manager for UK and International Business. Joining the company in 2017, Jessica brought with her 22 years experience in content rights management, localization and distribution via various media (Internet, Broadcasting, HV, Publishing, Merchandising) of Japanese Animation in UK, EU and in the last few years working in expanding into the US market. Her expertise, experience, and knowledge in the industry will play a key part in the expansion of Anime Limited's footprint globally.



Kerry Kasim has been promoted from her position as VP Marketing to the role of General Manager, UK and Ireland, recently vacated by Jessica Poce, with the aim of expanding Anime Limited's footprint and distribution in the territories. Having joined the company in 2013 as Marketing Manager, Kerry helped shape the brand and support its development over the years, overseeing the growth of the marketing team and the direct to consumer side of the business.

About Anime Ltd
Based out of Glasgow, Anime Ltd is a pioneer in distribution for anime, producing physical and digital releases across the world with some of the top brands in Japanese animation. Working with works like Cowboy Bebop, Attack on Titan, NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, Mobile Suit Gundam, Tokyo Ghoul, Your Name, Weathering With You, Mirai and JUJUTSU KAISEN.