By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
Licensing International has announced the eight licensing professionals who will receive the 2024 Global Rising Star Award.
This year’s Rising Stars will be honored during the Hall of Fame Induction Gala and Global Rising Star Awards on December 4, 2024, at Gotham Hall in New York City.
The event is a fundraiser for Licensing International’s Scholarship Program and supports the LI Foundation in its mission to inspire the next generation of licensing professionals around the world.
Registration for the event is currently available online through the Licensing International website.
“Licensing International is thrilled to highlight the innovative young professionals who will become the future leaders of the global brand licensing industry,” said Licensing International president, Maura Regan. “We are also incredibly thankful to our Rising Stars committee members, who had the difficult task of selecting our recipients from among the best of the best, and to our sponsor Mattel for their support.”
The 2024 Rising Star award winners include:
Teresa Curtis, Jay Franco and Sons senior manager of licensing & business development. In her role as Jay Franco’s senior licensing manager, Teresa Curtis oversees the company’s entire licensing portfolio and plays a crucial role in onboarding new partnerships and driving expansion across the business. A graduate of LIM College, Curtis first began her career in the licensing industry in 2020 as an approvals coordinator for select Jay Franco partnerships.
Greg Carty, NFL Players licensing manager. Greg Carty serves as licensing manager at the NFLPA’s marketing and licensing division, NFL Players. The NFL Players division manages the commercial rights of over 2,000 professional football players. As a key member of its consumer products and strategy group, Carty oversees a portfolio of over 35 licensees to develop licensed NFL and player-branded consumer products across apparel, hardlines and digital platforms. Greg first joined the NFL Players team in 2022.
Gemma Hay, Mattel’s manager of global franchise marketing. In her current role at Mattel, Gemma Hay is responsible for leading the global franchise relaunch and brand management of Barney the Dinosaur. Hay’s licensing career first launched in 2020 with Mattel EMEA, where she worked on the company’s action figure portfolio with key licensors like Disney, Universal, WWE, and Microsoft. She then took on the EMEA brand and franchise management of both Thomas & Friends and Fireman Sam. Her specialties include brand and franchise management, content development for preschool entertainment IPs and overall business development.
Oliver Gilding, Iceland Foods’ head of innovation & licensing. As the licensing head for Iceland Foods, Oliver Gilding has significantly contributed to the company’s growth and strategic direction. Since starting his career in licensing in 2021, Gilding has expanded the company’s branded offerings into an extensive portfolio of over 500 consumer products from 30 different licenses. As the driving force behind Iceland Foods’ cross-category licensing program, Oliver has played a key role in establishing multiple product launches with global brands across restaurant, grocery and lifestyle categories.
David Jolly, Le Petit Prince Licensing marketing & communications manager. David Jolly plays a key role at Le Petit Prince Licensing by overseeing the French heritage brand’s licensing partnerships and expansion into international markets such as China and Brazil. Throughout his career, Jolly has focused on expanding French cultural brands through his work at companies such as Les Editions Albert René and Hachette Collections.
Abhishek Kumar, Bradford License India design & brand assurance head. In his role at Bradford License India, Abhishek Kumar has facilitated more than 50 global partnerships for the agency across multiple categories including fashion, lifestyle, sports, entertainment, and electronics. Kumar specializes in brand licensing, creative strategy, fashion collaborations and representing global brands in the Indian market. Through his part in an Indian Fashion Trend Forecasting project, Abhishek has used his trend forecasting and creative expertise to help brands align with emerging consumer preferences.
Wei Jie Sun, Alifish licensing director. Wei Jie Sun works at Alifish, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, as the licensing director for its hardline team. He currently manages the licensing business for a variety of prominent IPs in the China region including Sanrio, Pokémon, Minions and Chiikawa. Throughout his career, Wei Jie Sun has helped numerous brands like Bloks, Toptoy, Razer, Logitech, and OPPO develop licensing collaborations, managed around 200 clients and has worked in both the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) team and the hardline team at Alifish.
Joseph Yap, BBC Studios brands & licensing manager. Joseph Yap currently works to manage and expand BBC Studios licensing strategy for multiple IPs across several markets in Asia. This includes managing the licensing programs for global entertainment brands such as Doctor Who, Bluey, Hey Duggee and BBC Earth. Yap’s current focus has been leading and executing the cross-category licensing program and brand strategy for BBC’s Bluey IP across key markets in Asia. These markets include Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia (excluding Greater China), and South Asia.
For more than a decade, Licensing International’s Rising Stars awards has celebrated industry professionals from around the world who have been nominated by their peers and recognized for their contributions to the global brand licensing industry. Mattel is serving as the Champion-Level Sponsor of this year’s Global Rising Star Awards.
“Mattel is proud to be the Champion-Level Sponsor of the 2024 Licensing International Rising Star Award recipients, who are the future of brand licensing,” said Mattel CFO, Josh Silverman. “This award not only highlights the talented young professionals, but also recognizes their creativity, hard work, and remarkable achievements, and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish next.”
Licensing International is a trade organization that is dedicated to expanding the global brand licensing industry through an array of educational programming and worldwide networking events.
Initially founded in 1985, Licensing International currently includes more than 1,500 member companies in over 40 countries around the world.