By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Hasbro has reported another senior management shakeup, saying Darren Throop will step down as president and CEO of its eOne division.
Throop is the founder of what was then the Canadian studio Entertainment One, and guided the company during its growth and eventual acquisition by Hasbro.
The company says Throop will continue in his current role throughout the remainder of 2022, but will step down when his contract expires.
“Darren built a team with deep passion, creativity and talent and, on behalf of all of us at Hasbro, I thank him for his steadfast leadership,” said Chris Cocks, Hasbro’s CEO.
eOne was acquired under a broad strategy shift for Hasbro, as the company sought to transform itself from a toy company to a broader play and entertainment conglomerate. The acquisition of the successful animation studio was seen as the critical element in that restructuring, and Cocks says that will not change.
“Entertainment continues to be a cornerstone of our strategy,” Cocks said. “With over 200 projects in development across film, scripted and unscripted television, the eOne team is working on over 35 development projects for Hasbro brands – including content for TRANSFORMERS, MAGIC, D&D, PEPPA PIG, MY LITTLE PONY, POWER RANGERS and PLAY-DOH, among many others.
“Darren’s vision and legacy will be felt for years, and we wish him all the best in his next chapter.”
Throop came to Hasbro as a wildly successful entrepreneur with a string of successes under his corporate belt.
Throop founded Urban Sound Exchange, a chain of retail music stores, in 1991, and built out music distribution through CDPlus.com and Records on Wheels, before becoming CEO of ROW Entertainment in 2001, which later acquired Video One Canada, Canada’s largest home entertainment company.
Throop took ROW public in 2003 and then orchestrated the acquisition of Koch Records, North America’s largest independent music label and subsequently changed the company name to Entertainment One. That company aggressively acquired rights to a variety of specialty content properties, and launched a $200 million IPO in 2007, which allowed it to acquire several studios and distributors around the world.
Entertainment One was successful in both animated and live action productions, and was subsequently sold to Hasbro in 2019 with a reported $4 billion price tag.
Throop says he believes the company he founded is in good hands, as he leaves to start a new chapter in his life.
“As eOne and Hasbro have hit their stride, we have already begun to see what is possible working together,” Throop said. “We have been working towards this milestone from the moment eOne joined Hasbro, and I’m proud to see the vision being realized through Hasbro’s shared passion for creativity and storytelling.
“Looking to the future, I have tremendous confidence in Hasbro and eOne leadership to continue to build on eOne’s track record of bringing outstanding entertainment to audiences,” Throop added. “I have had the privilege of leading eOne for more than 20 years and I am incredibly proud of the team, and what we built together.
“I want to thank the visionary leaders, world-class colleagues, and extraordinary eOners, past and present, who made this amazing adventure possible.”
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