Company adds the 30-year animation veteran to spearhead creative content management and to lead ongoing productions.
Following the recent appointment of Skyler Mattson as CEO, Saffronic, the film and TV animation, gaming, advertising, and visual FX studio has expanded its executive team with the appointment of Kevin J. Johnson as its first Executive Creative Director. Saffronic was founded in 2022 by Tim Sarnoff, former Deputy CEO-President Production Services & Global Head of Strategy and Development at Technicolor, and Vince Pizzica, former Technicolor CTO and Chief Strategist.
In his new role, Johnson will collaborate with Kristy Scanlan, the company’s recently appointed SVP of Business Development to foster relationships with new and existing clients as well as lead ongoing productions. Current Saffronic clients include DreamWorks Animation (Gabby’s Dollhouse, Dragons: The Nine Realms, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous), WildBrain, and Trioscope.
Based in Los Angeles, Johnson has over 30 years of experience in animation. Most recently, he served as Supervising Director at Universal 1440 Entertainment on the last four seasons of Curious George. Prior, he directed the animated feature Dog Gone Trouble, starring Lucy Hale, Big Sean Anderson, and Snoop Dogg, distributed by Netflix. He was also the Animation Supervisor on Fox’s feature film Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked; and the director of The Jungle Book, an animated version of Rudyard Kippling’s classic tale. His rich animation experiences also include Head of Story on Astroboy, and a creative consultancy on The Zula Patrol, a CGI animated series for PBS. His experience covers all animation styles, from traditional hand-drawn animated films such as The Iron Giant to visual effects spectacles such as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
“Kevin brings to Saffronic his expertise across every discipline of animation, and combined with his impressive creative vision, he will be instrumental in guiding our diverse and talented development and production teams as Saffronic continues its commitment to global growth,” commented Mattson.
“Boasting an impressive client roster and top-class talent, Saffronic is experiencing an important phase in its growth,” added Johnson. “I am excited to dive into the projects with Kristy and the creative teams to bring what I am so passionate about to the table to deliver exceptional quality animation to our clients,”
Saffronic’s management team, now led by Mattson, also includes industry veterans Kumar Chandrasekaran and Prabhakar Sambandan, each with over 25 years of industry experience with major entertainment companies and brands. They serve as joint Studio Directors at the company’s production facility in India in the city of Chennai. Sally Toms, an agency veteran, runs operations.
Source: Saffronic
