Brad Woods Named CMO for Anime/Manga Publisher Viz Media

VIZ MEDIA NAMES BRAD WOODS AS CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

Entertainment Executive To Lead Global Multimedia Initiatives And Drive Omni-Channel Marketing For The Industry's Leading Catalog Of Anime And Manga Content

San Francisco, CA, May 18, 2015 – Viz Media, LLC (Viz Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, has announced that Brad Woods has been named as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).

“Brad Woods is a seasoned entertainment executive with a proven success record of enhancing brand equity, increasing revenue, and achieving results with innovative strategies and visionary leadership,” says Ken Sasaki, CEO of Viz Media. “His multi-disciplinary experience will play a vital role in expanding Viz Media's market share across the publishing, digital content, licensing, home media, and consumer product landscapes.”

Woods will be responsible for developing a range of marketing and product strategies to expand the Viz Media brand and omni-channel marketing for titles across all company imprints.

“I am very excited to build upon Viz Media's mission to offer exciting and unique multimedia content to a diverse global audience,” Woods says. “Our dynamic catalog of titles across the print, digital, broadcast, and mobile arenas will allow us to reinvent how consumers discover, enjoy, and interact with our properties on a truly global level.”

Woods joins Viz Media from DreamWorks Animation, where he served as Senior Vice President leading the domestic consumer products and retail business development divisions. During his tenure at DreamWorks, he restructured and substantially expanded the studio's consumer products business, led the U.S. licensing and retail teams, and also provided strategic leadership for breakthrough marketing programs on properties including Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, and How To Train Your Dragon.

Over his 20-year career, Woods has held senior positions in the entertainment and multi-media industries with companies including Mattel and Warner Bros. Entertainment. His experience spans a wide variety of marketing and licensing operations such as product marketing, brand development, corporate marketing and communications, lead generation, channel relations, and digital and social media marketing. He holds an MBA from the University of Southern California, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude, and a BS from the University of Arizona.

For more information on Viz Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.


About Viz Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Viz Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan. Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha, Inc., Shogakukan, Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., Viz Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and ONE PIECE, Viz Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages. Viz Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products. Learn more about Viz Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.