Warner Bros. Pictures Animation Taps Former Netflix Recruiting Execs Kim Mackey, Jessie Carbonaro; Ups Susan Akinbola In Development

Jill Goldsmith
·2 min read

Warner Bros. Pictures Animation is expanding its executive team under President Bill Damaschke, adding Kim Mackey and Jessie Carbonaro, as EVP of Production Talent and VP of Production Talent, respectively, and elevating Susan Akinbola to VP of Development.

Mackey was most recently head of recruiting for Netflix Animation. She will be overseeing the hiring across the film, series, and adult animation divisions, responsible for recruiting and talent development strategy as well as the artistic management and training for the feature film animation division. Prior to Netflix, she led recruiting for DreamWorks Animation, where she also worked in production and executives roles for Prince of Egypt, Spirit, Shark Tale, and Flushed Away. As a talent acquisition studio executive, she managed resource needs across the studio’s production slate including franchises Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar and How to Train Your Dragon.

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Carbonaro also joins from Netflix where she was director of talent acquisition for feature animation. She will work closely with Mackey, cultivating and maintaining relationships within the animation communities and managing the recruiting experience. She started in production and was at DreamWorks as a production supervisor on Madagascar, Madagascar 2, Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After, Puss in Boots, and Home before transitioning into talent acquisition. She has also worked at Skydance Media.

Akinbola is responsible for developing a diverse slate of original and IP-based features for Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. She joined in 2020, returning to the studio where she began her career on the LEGO Movie franchise.

“At a such an exciting time in our company’s history, where we are ramping up and building a slate and culture that we are incredibly proud of, we are thrilled to welcome such well-respected and accomplished executives to the team and promote one of our talented team members from inside the company,” Damaschke said.

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