Blair Partnership Adds Two Senior Executives for Growth Push
The Blair Partnership, the talent and rights agency that represents Harry Potter, The Wombles and the world of Neverland from Peter Pan, has appointed two senior executives as it moves into a new phase of growth, according to Variety.
The biggest job goes to Will Obbard, who becomes group commercial director. He joins from Merlin Entertainments, where he spent more than 12 years and was vice president of partnerships. Before that, he worked in strategy and mergers and acquisitions (M&A, the buying and combining of companies) at the accountancy firm KPMG.
Obbard will lead a five-year growth strategy. It focuses on three areas: new revenue streams built through partnerships, new franchises, and M&A. He is also a trustee of World Book Day, the charity that promotes children's reading.
The second appointment is Alex Flanagan, who becomes group general counsel, the company's most senior lawyer. Flanagan spent three and a half years at Amazon's global media and entertainment division. There, the work covered licensing agreements and policy for Amazon Music and Prime Video. A licence is a legal permission to use a piece of content, usually in exchange for payment.
Flanagan's earlier roles were in the music industry. At Universal Music Group, Flanagan was vice president for global digital legal and business affairs. Flanagan also ran the legal side of Spinnup, the company's platform that helps independent artists distribute their music.
Neil Blair, the founding partner, remains at the head of the business. Blair Partnership works with books, films, television and stage projects, and its roster includes some of the most widely known children's and family characters in Britain.
The announcement gives few details on timing or on specific deals. For the agency's clients, the changes mean a new commercial lead and a new head of legal, with a brief to find new ways to grow the business over the next five years.
