Merchantwise has appointed Jacqui Shilson-Josling as senior director of licensing and Felicity Drake to director of partnerships and promotions.
Shilson-Josling leads the Hasbro licensing portfolio across ANZ, overseeing a portfolio of brands spanning preschool, family gaming, collectibles, action and fantasy entertainment including including My Little Pony, Transformers, Monopoly, Play-doh, Nerf and Hasbro Games. Shilson-Josling will also manage the expanding Wizards of the Coast universe, including Dungeons & Dragons.
Joining from BBC Studios ANZ, Shilson-Josling most recently served as head of licensing for Bluey, Doctor Who and franchise brands. Her career has included senior licensing and publishing roles with Scholastic Australia and experience across apparel, FMCG, publishing, retail activations, promotions and strategic brand partnerships.
Drake joins the team as director partnerships and promotions, in this role she will develop the Merchantwise partnerships strategy for licensed promotions across the extensive brand portfolio for key categories including QSR, retail and location based entertainment. She will drive the engagement and support of priority promotional partners and lead exploration and ideation of brand collaborations.
Most recently Drake headed up promotions and trade marketing across ANZ for Universal and Warner Bros, supervising tie-ins including for Barbie, Wonka, Wicked, A Minecraft Movie and Wuthering Heights. Prior to this, she managed partner strategies for Sony Pictures Releasing film franchises including Spider-Man and James Bond. Her partner innovation spans QSR, travel, luxury, fashion, beauty, FMCG, retail, education, loyalty and technology.
“I am delighted to be welcoming Jacqui and Felicity to the Merchantwise team. Jacqui is one of the most respected and accomplished licensing executives in the Australian market and brings with her experience leading major global brands, a strategic mindset, commercial acumen and strong industry relationships,
“Felicity is a highly experienced entertainment marketer who joins us with skilled stakeholder management and extensive industry relationships. Her passion for creating meaningful brand partnerships has delivered success across cinema box office, major cultural moments and consumer product sales, and we are excited to have her on the team to drive partnerships and promotions across our brands,” said Merchantwise Group chief executive Alan Schauder.
“Merchantwise has an outstanding reputation for building innovative, best-in-class licensing programs. The Hasbro portfolio boasts some of the world’s most loved and enduring brands, and I’m excited to join the team and help drive the next phase of growth and innovation across the region,” said Shilson-Josling.
“Having partnered with Merchantwise for years I’m delighted to join the company. We have among the best IP available for creative collaboration across toys, games, television and movies. I’m thrilled to spearhead promotions for such a robust library of entertainment, growing the scope of our brands and impact for our important partners,” said Drake.
