Blue Ant ups Jamie Schouela, shuffles execs

As the media co expands globally, it has placed Schouela in charge of its Canadian networks and put Makeful under Vanessa Case.

There’s no shortage of movement on the business side of Blue Ant Media these days, as it develops a range of new business strategies to combat changes in the Canadian TV market.

In line with recent announcements, such as its partnership with adRise to bring Tubi TV to Canada, it today also announced a suite of changes in its executive and managerial ranks.

JamieSchouelalongLongtime Canadian broadcast exec Jamie Schouela (pictured left) has been promoted to EVP, Canadian Networks from his previous post as EVP of the company’s marketing and communications portfolio. The role will see him oversee domestic TV and digital content strategy, scheduling, ad ops and communications.

And programming exec Vanessa Case keeps her title of EVP content, but adds the company’s new channel, Makeful, to her portfolio. Makeful will be targeting DIYers and Etsy fans with a suite of content targeting crafty pursuits. Her counterpart Marcia Martin, SVP Original Content, will focus on the company’s nature and wildlife content, which recently added a partnership with WWF to its operations.

The company has committed to producing and distributing 300 hours of 4K wildlife and nature content annually.

Also on tap in the executive suite is the promotion of Simon Foster to SVP corporate development with a focus on M&A; previously, Foster was SVP digital publishing and business development. Alongside Foster’s move is the promotion of Sam Linton to VP of production and Laura Pearce to VP marketing and digital from VP brand strategy and fan engagement.

On the hires front, Blue Ant has brought on former startup leader Jesse Dallal as its new VP of product development, where he arrives from MavenSay Inc, a mobile-focused company he co-founded in 2012.