Animation Studio TeamTo Units Up Put up-Acquisition Management Construction

Kicking off a model new chapter for thought of one among Europe’s premier neutral animation studios, Marco Balsamo has taken over as President and CEO of TeamTO following its acquisition by Riva Studios Productions in December 2024.

The 33-year-old Italian-American filmmaker and entrepreneur will now oversee TeamTO’s operations, balancing authorities and inventive duties whereas positioning the studio for progress in a rapidly evolving animation enterprise.

“This studio has constructed a distinctive legacy, and we’re devoted to creating positive its long-term success,” Balsamo knowledgeable Choice of the changes. “We moreover must broaden our attain to worldwide companions, strengthen our presence throughout the worldwide animation enterprise and arrange TeamTO as a pacesetter in every distinctive content material materials and premium manufacturing firms.”

Co-founded by Balsamo and Tara Sibel Demren, Riva partnered with filmmaker Jay Oliva (“Batman: The Darkish Knight Returns,” “Twilight of the Gods”) of Lex & Otis and investor Peter Bekkerman to sort a model new possession group with the one actual perform of securing the studio’s long-term future. The acquisition coincides with TeamTO’s twentieth anniversary, marking a pivotal second throughout the agency’s historic previous.

As part of its dedication to preserving TeamTO’s legacy, Riva Studios has retained 90% of the studio’s employees. The model new administration building consists of long-term TeamTO executives Clélia Santi (Head of Studios, Paris), Carole Toledo (Head of Studios, Valence), Jean-Baptiste Spieser (Chief Know-how Officer), Olivier Plazas (Art work Director) and Fanny Weber (Authorities Producer). Totally different key roles embody Demren and Oliva as Authorities Producers and Balsamo as Producer, with extra creative appointments to be launched throughout the near future.

Notably, TeamTO co-founders and longtime studio leaders Guillaume Hellouin and Corrine Kouper, who initially deliberate to stay with TeamTO post-acquisition, gained’t proceed with the company.

“We’ve recognized them for years, and I can’t take into consideration how troublesome this has been for them, nevertheless we respect their selection,” Balsamo outlined. “As with each administration transition, there are always shifts. An essential issue to us is that the center of the studio that they constructed stays sturdy, and we’ve been able to retain 90% of its employees.”

Beneath its new administration, TeamTO will broaden its creative slate, mixing its legacy of acclaimed kids’s animated assortment like “Angelo Tips” and “Jade Armor” with a lineup of distinctive IPs from Riva, broadening its attain into grownup animation. The studio is in the mean time rising an daring slate that options titles akin to “Akira’s Flying Wheelchair,” “Junichiro Jackson,” “Yellow Cello and the Sea of Reminiscences,” “The Adventures of Amir Hamza,” “Cradle: Unsouled,” “Interval: The Legend of Lugh” and “Corvus Belli’s Infinity: Paradise Misplaced.”

Balsamo and the model new TeamTO administration are notably passionate about pushing into grownup animation, and the model new boss says companion Oliva is likely to be a big have an effect on in that regard. “Jay has directed among the many best grownup animated assortment ever, and we’ve acquired 4 grownup IPs we’re engaged on, from comedy to psychological thrillers,” he talked about.

One different of Balsamo’s key initiatives as CEO is likely to be to diversify TeamTO’s manufacturing slate, guaranteeing it stays a aggressive energy throughout the enterprise. He’ll work intently with Oliva and Demren to develop daring new initiatives that push the boundaries of what the studio has executed to this point. Previous his authorities perform, Balsamo will deal with expanded creative duties, serving as a showrunner, writer and director on various initiatives.

Balsamo and Demren, acutely aware of TeamTO’s troublesome financial state of affairs closing 12 months, had been exploring strategies to forestall the studio from insolvency since early June, actively engaged on potential choices. A chance meeting with Oliva in New York in mid-October—merely 4 days sooner than the bid deadline—led to their option to accumulate the studio collectively.

“The way in which by which this deal acquired right here collectively—so serendipitously, so shortly—nonetheless feels surreal,” talked about Balsamo. “In an enterprise the place animation studios are struggling, gifted animators are being laid off and a few years of labor are liable to vanishing, we couldn’t let a studio with TeamTO’s pedigree be misplaced. We’ve always championed the neutral spirit of filmmaking, and TeamTO embodies that exact same spirit. I couldn’t ask for a better crew with whom to embark on this journey.”