Stephanie Sperber Re-Ups As Universal Partnerships & Licensing Boss
BREAKING: Stephanie Sperber oversees all of Universal’s global consumer products, digital licensing, theatrical and home entertainment promotions across all divisions of Universal Pictures as well as strategic marketing alliances for both Universal Pictures and Universal Studios Parks and Resorts Group. Her contract as president of Universal Partnerships & Licensing president had another year and a half on it, but she is now re-signed until June 2016. She continues to report to Universal chairman Adam Fogelson.
Sperber has led UP&L since its creation in 2009. The unit’s recent successes have included studio’s largest-ever global licensing and promotional campaign for Universal and Illumination Entertainment’s Despicable Me 2, which involves more than 100 promotional partners worldwide and includes the first mobile game for the Despicable Me franchise in conjunction with Gameloft. It’s part of the studio’s largest licensing effort since 2005′s King Kong. In addition, the group was behind the successful release of Fast & Furious 6: The Game, the mobile game that has taken off worldwide in service of the film which has just surpassed Fast 5 as the highest-grossing film in the franchise worldwide (it’s now the No. 2 grossing film of 2013 with a worldwide total of $636.9M with three territories to come).
Before her current role, Sperber was EVP of the studio’s Consumer Products Group within the division known as Universal Studios Partnerships. Prior to that, she led Universal Studios Partnerships as EVP since 2005. Her team will continue to work with the NBCUniversal Media Innovation & Cross Company Initiatives group and with new EVP Franchise Management and Global Consumer Products Russell Hampton.
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