Dubit hires industry veteran to run US office

The £3m turnover company, which has its head office in Leeds, has hired Brad Schultz, whose father Bill worked with the legendary Jim Henson, who created The Muppets, to run the US operation.

Mr Schultz has become Dubit’s vice president of brand strategy. He will oversee the growth of Dubit’s Los Angeles-based production facilities. The US now accounts for more than half of the company’s business.

Mr Schultz joins Dubit from children’s talent network Tryout. He was also founder of mobile games publisher Flying Penguin. Until recently he was head of Moshi TV at Mind Candy, where he launched the company’s video initiatives and developed the plans for the recently released Moshi Monsters Movie.

A Dubit spokesman said: “Mr Schultz has a natural flair for developing kids’ content, having grown up in the animation industry.

His father, Bill Schultz, is a successful TV producer having worked on titles including Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies, The Transformers, and My Little Pony ’n Friends, before winning two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on The Simpsons.”

In his role at Dubit, Mr Schultz will be working with brands that are looking to extend their entertainment to children online, from initial research and business design, through to digital production services.

Dubit chief executive Ian Douthwaite said: “Brad has a fantastic pedigree in children’s entertainment and it’s a great coup to have him join the team.

“Our business in the US has grown significantly over the past four years and having Brad represent us across the Americas will help us to provide an even greater service to our clients. LA is the home of entertainment and it makes sense for it to be the home of our first US office.”

Dubit, which has 60 staff, was formed in 1999 and helps brands design and create digital entertainment for children through its games development studio and research division.

The company has operated in the US for a number of years and is working on the virtual world for the forthcoming movie Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return for LA-based Summertime Entertainment.

“We help them (the clients) understand how their idea will work with kids,’’ said Mr Douthwaite.

Since the beginning of February, Dubit has been in the US where the team, including Mr Schultz, has been exhibiting and speaking at a number of conferences and exhibitions, including the Kidscreen Summit, iKids, and Digital Kids in New York.

Next month, the Dubit team will travel to San Francisco to exhibit at the Games Developer Conference.