Industry veteran Ivan Fecan steps away from Executive Chair role to focus on developing and producing premium content for the Company
VANCOUVER / Sept 26, 2019 – Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc. (TSXV:TBRD) (“Thunderbird” or the “Company”) announced today that Ivan Fecan is transitioning from his role as Executive Chair of the Board to pursue his passions and focus on producing premium content for the Company, including the award-winning sitcom Kim’s Convenience. The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Brian Paes-Braga as Chair of the Company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Paes-Braga is a large shareholder of the Company and has been active member of the Board of Directors since October 2018.
“I wish to personally thank Ivan Fecan for his dedication and leadership as we built Thunderbird’s business together over the past six years. I have known him since my Lionsgate days and have always regarded Ivan as a national treasure. His experience and wisdom was invaluable when it was needed most, and we are looking forward to our continued collaboration in Ivan’s ongoing role as the producer of our worldwide hit series Kim’s Convenience,” said Frank Giustra, Lead Director on Thunderbird’s Board of Directors and founder of Lionsgate Entertainment. “I am also looking forward to working with Brian Paes-Braga in his new role as Chair. Having worked with Brian on a number of ventures, I know how his talents will benefit all of our shareholders. This is an exciting time for Thunderbird Entertainment, and Brian will bring his energy, people skills and leadership to the table, as he works with Jennifer Twiner McCarron and the rest of our management team to take Thunderbird to new levels.”
Jennifer Twiner McCarron, Chief Executive Officer at Thunderbird Entertainment and its Kids and Family Division, Atomic Cartoons, added, “Ivan Fecan has been a tremendous asset to Thunderbird, and while he is shifting his focus away from our Board of Directors, we are delighted he will continue to be part of our Company as one of the best content creators working in Canada today. As we thank Ivan for his many contributions, we are also thrilled to welcome Brian Paes-Braga to the role of Chair. With his rich experience in building, investing in, financing and advising high growth companies across multiple industries, we know that all of Thunderbird’s divisions will benefit from his expertise and insight.”
Mr. Fecan is a well-regarded North American media executive, producer and philanthropist who has served as Vice President, Creative Affairs at NBC, Head of English Television at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and Chief Executive Officer and President of CTVglobemedia. He is currently the producer of Thunderbird’s award-winning series Kim’s Convenience, which airs around the world.
Mr. Paes-Braga is a Principal at SAF Group, a leading structured credit and merchant banking firm that builds, finances and advises high growth companies, providing flexible, long-term capital solutions to businesses and stable returns for investors. Previously, Mr. Paes-Braga was Founder and CEO of Lithium X Energy Corp., a lithium resource company which, within 2.5 years, raised approximately $53 million and was acquired in an all-cash deal for $265 million. Mr. Paes-Braga is an active philanthropist, sitting on the Advisory Council of the International Crisis Group and supporting several charities and research groups through his private family foundation, Quiet Cove Foundation. In addition to Thunderbird, Mr. Paes-Braga sits on the Board of Directors of DeepGreen Metals and alongside Frank Giustra, is the lead investor in Nude Beverage Group.
“I am humbled and excited for the opportunity to support Jennifer Twiner McCarron, Mark Miller, Matthew Berkowitz, Tim Gamble and the rest of the talented Thunderbird Entertainment family,” said Mr. Paes-Braga. “After making my initial investment in the Company nearly two years ago, I have personally witnessed both management execution and industry fundamentals get exceptionally stronger. I am looking forward to engaging my passion for building high-growth companies in this role alongside my business partner, Frank Giustra, who has inspired me in this industry with his well-known success founding one of the world’s largest independent film studios, Lionsgate Entertainment. Thunderbird has cultivated a focused and passionate management team that has continued to deliver exceptional growth and increasing EBITDA margins, all the while servicing and more importantly and recently, partnering with global multimedia customers such as Netflix. They have quietly, in typical Canadian fashion, become leaders in the over the top (OTT) media industry, which is growing rapidly across the globe, and I believe is still in the early innings. Thunderbird’s mission and vision endeavour to make a positive impact on the world, aligning with my own core values, while offering an extraordinary opportunity for value creation for its stakeholders.”
Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc.
Thunderbird Entertainment Group is a Vancouver-based global multi-platform entertainment company with offices in Vancouver, Los Angeles, Toronto, Ottawa and London (UK). Thunderbird creates award-winning scripted, unscripted and animated programming for the world’s leading digital platforms, as well as Canadian and international broadcasters. Thunderbird’s vision is to produce high quality, socially responsible content that makes the world a better place. The company develops, produces and distributes animated, factual and scripted content through its various divisions: Kids and Family Division (Atomic Cartoons), Factual Division (Great Pacific Media), and Scripted Division (Thunderbird Productions). Thunderbird also has a division based in the United Kingdom dedicated to establishing partnerships with production companies to develop the Company’s intellectual property (IP) and growth in key international territories. Thunderbird is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @tbirdent. For more information, visit: www.thunderbird.tv
For further information, please contact:
Investor Relations Contacts:
Lucas Cahill and Freddie Leigh
Phone: + 1 604.683.3555
Email: investors@thunderbird.tv
Media Relations Contact:
Julia Smith, Finch Media
Phone: +1 604.803.0897
Email: julia@finchmedia.net
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release includes certain “forward-looking statements” under applicable Canadian securities legislation that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company’s objectives, goals or future plans and the business and operations of the Company, and the likelihood of completion of upcoming releases. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic and social uncertainties; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; those additional risks set out in the Company’s Filing Statement and other public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com; and other matters discussed in this news release. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except where required by law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.