Coolabi Group Appoints Jo Redfern as SVP Digital & Announces Senior Promotions
Skwigly
Leading independent international media group and rights owner Coolabi Group has appointed industry expert Jo Redfern as its SVP Digital. In this newly created position, working alongside CEO Will Harrison and the Coolabi management team, she will spearhead the company’s ambitious digital expansion plans, focusing on building a YouTube and gaming strategy to further exploit the company’s IP.
Jo Redfern
Rachel Hughes has been promoted to a new role as Head of Digital Editorial & Audience Growth reporting to Jo and will lead editorial strategy, content programming and community engagement across digital channels.
In addition to this senior hire, Coolabi has announced a number of promotions to its Senior Leadership Team to reflect the ongoing growth of the business and align with its franchise-focused strategy: Chris Snowdon is EVP Books & Story; Allison Watkins is EVP Consumer Products, and Michael Dee is SVP Television.
We have huge ambitions in the digital space for our key franchises and we are putting digital at the heart of all our business, meeting fans on the platforms where they live and build communities We couldn’t think of anyone better to lead this push than Jo. Her credentials, track record, knowledge and understanding of this world are second-to-none. We look forward to her accelerating our growth plans across all digital arenas.
Will Harrison, Coolabi Group’s CEO
I’m excited to be joining Coolabi to lead the digital strategy and content creation for its portfolio of IP, particularly Warrior Cats. I’ve long tracked the brand on Roblox, now at 730 million visits and counting, and that was before I realised the scale of fandom across YouTube and the millions of views for fan-generated content! I am also excited to look at Coolabi’s extensive stable of IP through a digital lens, working alongside the teams in publishing, television and consumer products to build engagement and fandom across all of the company’s brands.
Jo Redfern
Jo joins the company with a wealth of experience as her career spans the public service, startup and studio worlds. She managed commercial partnerships at BBC Children’s and Education, notably working with Merlin Entertainments and she also managed consumer products programmes for IP such as Mr. Tumble. She was a founding team member and Global Head of Content at startup 24 Watts and was Managing Director of Vancouver studio Wind Sun Sky before launching her own consultancy Futrhood Media.
Jo is a leading digital consultant and industry voice. She co-hosts the Kids Media Club podcast and sits on the advisory board for MIP JUNIOR, as well as being a regular speaker at events such as Content Europe, Stream TV and the Copenhagen International TV Festival.
Coolabi has created an extensive slate of wholly owned IP through its book packaging business, Working Partners, and the growth and expansion into digital is focused on building its book IP into global franchises in innovative ways with storytelling, fandom and community at the heart of all its projects and activity.
Coolabi’s biggest hit to date is the best-selling series Warrior Cats, a huge publishing success story (90m+ books sold in 38 languages and 20+ years on the New York Times bestseller list). The brand has a passionate fanbase across the world, garnering over 2 million annual users on the official Warrior Cats website last year, 50 million views per month across user generated content on YouTube alone, plus more than 3 billion views on TikTok. The Warrior Cats: Ultimate Edition game on Roblox is consistently one of the highest-ranking branded games on the platform and has been played more than 730 million times.
A new Warrior Cats animated series TV series has just been greenlit with Tencent Video and will air in 2028, and the Warrior Cats consumer products have also had a hugely successful retail launch in the US.
Coolabi’s growth is also rooted in scaling up its other book-based brands such as the animated series based on its hit Beast Quest books with Superprod Group and for The Secret Explorers with Pixel Zoo and Liquid Rock Entertainment. The company is also co-producer with Cottonwood Media on the hit live action drama based on its The Lady Grace Mysteries book series along with BBC Children’s & Education, ZDF / ZDF Studios in Germany and France Televisions.