Licensing

Steven Ekstract, Managing Director, Global Licensing Advisors
Adam Steel, International Licensing, Moonbug Entertainment
Stefan Kastenmüller, AVP, Strategic Communications, Sesame Workshop

Retailers and manufacturers need to understand how the proliferation of streaming services is affecting where, when and how consumers are viewing new content, and how that fits into how they evaluate the popularity of movies and TV shows.

Steven Ekstract is Managing Director of Global Licensing Advisors, a consultancy that provides companies with insight and strategic direction to succeed in the $300 billion a year licensing business. Ekstract is the founder and former Publisher of License Global magazine, the leading information source for the consumer licensing business. He can be reached at steven@globallicensingadvisors.com.

Adam Steel joined the team in 2021 and oversees licensing initiatives for brands across EMEA, APAC and LATAM at Moonbug Entertainment, a global entertainment company that develops and distributes fun and enriching content for children. Steel has over a decade of experience working within Entertainment, Licensing and Consumer Products. Previously at Universal Pictures, Steel served as Commercial Director, overseeing the licensing business for EMEA and developing brands such as the Minions and Jurassic Park.

Stefan Kastenmüller, Sesame Workshop‘s General Manager for Europe, is responsible for developing and implementing a long-term strategic vision for the Workshop in the region and leveraging the brand to maximize audience engagement and deliver educational benefits to children.

Tanja Eisen, Global Director Multimedia (Games, Video and Merchandise), GfK
Melanie Müller, Senior Research Manager Games International, GfK
Sebastian Diebold, Senior Manager Games, GfK

Batman, Spider Man, LEGO or PAW Patrol are omnipresent on sneakers, T-shirts, yoghurts, bed linen and a multitude of everyday and non-everyday products. It is often precisely the merchandise elements that can be used to specifically increase sales, turnover and profit for licensors, licensees and retailers.

For the first time, the current sales data for these licensed products is available to you on a weekly basis as part of GfK Entertainment's Point of Sales (POS) tracking. With their help, business decisions can be derived and concrete product measures can be planned.
Presentation Language: German

Gisela Abrams, Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships, Licensing International
Addie Dorsey-Goosens, Head of Consumer Products EMEA, Ubisoft
Kevin Ramsey, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Warren James

Licensed properties mean nothing if they don’t have followers. Social media offers retailers and marketers a way to find and engage with communities of fans that can make or break a product line or a licensing program. Learn about ways that successful marketers identify and appeal to their audiences.

Gisela Abrams is the Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships at Licensing International – the premier trade association for the global licensing industry – headquartered in NYC and with offices and representation around the world.  In her role, Abrams is responsible for broadening Licensing International footprint, services and offerings to the global membership, including fostering the growth and expansion of licensing around the world.

Addie Dorsey-Goosens is a goal-driven, business developer passionate about brand licensing, consumer products, and all forms of entertainment. She is always looking to enrich the brand experience for the consumer by utilizing her expertise in international brand strategy and in building strategic, sustainable relationships. Addie was a recipient of Licensing International's Licensing Rising Star Award in 2021, and she is currently responsible for the development and execution of the licensing program strategies for Ubisoft's brand portfolio in the EMEA territory. She has significantly scaled business for brands such as: Assassin's Creed, Rainbow 6, Far Cry, Just Dance, and the Rabbids since her arrival in 2019.

Kevin Ramsey founded Warren James three years ago, following stints at Jazwares and Roblox, to develop custom merchandise, apparel, and e-commerce solutions for some of the largest content creators including Aphmau, Krew, Annoying Orange, Hasan Piker, and Safiya Nygaard. Since its launch, the company has grown to over 60 employees with offices in Los Angeles, Guangzhou, and Manilla while helping to define standard DTC and DTR deals for the industry. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, Kevin’s entire career has been focused on leveraging online audiences to drive engagement and product purchases in both retail stores and online. The passion and work Kevin has put into "this economy has increased the exposure and opportunities for this genre of content within the licensing industry,” according to one licensing executive.

Gisela Abrams, Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships, Licensing International
Steven Ekstract, Managing Director, Global Licensing Advisors
Peter Hollo, External Lead Consultant, Licensing International Germany

A pair of licensing industry veterans discuss the business, social, entertainment and other forces that are shaping the licensing business – and why they matter.

Gisela Abrams is the Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships at Licensing International – the premier trade association for the global licensing industry – headquartered in NYC and with offices and representation around the world.  In her role, Abrams is responsible for broadening Licensing International footprint, services and offerings to the global membership, including fostering the growth and expansion of licensing around the world.

Steven Ekstract is Managing Director of Global Licensing Advisors, a consultancy that provides companies with insight and strategic direction to succeed in the $300 billion a year licensing business. Ekstract is the founder and former Publisher of License Global magazine, the leading information source for the consumer licensing business. He can be reached at steven@globallicensingadvisors.com.

Peter Hollo is considered a seasoned toy expert, a tough negotiator when it comes to buying and an excellent strategist. Many industry insiders know him from his 11-year long activity for MÜLLER in Ulm, where he was last in charge of international buying and selling of toys and seasonal articles in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary. In 2012 he founded Ph – International Consultants and ever since has been consulting to international big players, but also mid-sized enterprises on HR marketing, employer branding, or organisational design.