John Friend

After graduating from Harvard, Cartoon Network Enterprises Senior Vice President John Friend started his career in banking at Citibank. After that, he worked in private equity for six years, including a stay in Argentina for two years. He became good friends with Jim Samples, who told him about an opportunity he thought Friend might be interested in at Turner Broadcasting. Friend joined the company and worked in business development and strategic planning for Turner's Latin America business for four years. During that time, he started to evaluate the strategy for building the consumer products division and began to make some recommendations. About two-and-a-half years ago, Friend took over consumer products at Cartoon Network and now is responsible for everything from licensed products to home video and themed entertainment.

Q: What were some of your favorite cartoons as a kid and have you tried to infuse any of those themes/qualities into programming on Cartoon Network?

A: My favorite cartoons as a kid were Tom & Jerry and Speed Racer. I can't take credit for trying to infuse any qualities from those shows into our Cartoon Network programming. I just hope we're making great cartoons today, so my kids can answer an interview question like this in the future, and talk about Ed Edd 'n Eddy,Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, or Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi.

Q: As Cartoon Network has transitioned from Warner Bros. Consumer Products in terms of licensing and merchandising, tell us about your new consumer products team and structure.

A: We have offices in three places with employees working in those locales closest to their key customers. New York is our primary business office and the core of our licensing group. Here, you will find our licensing category manager, retail development team, and our hard and soft goods teams. Our headquarters in Atlanta is home to management, brand strategy, home video, marketing, and other businesses. Our California offices are where our creative team resides and where we create product design and design guides.

Q: What is the status of Cartoon Network's current retail development team?

A: We are building our retail development team and recently hired Deena Boykin from Nickelodeon as senior director of retail development in New York. She reports to our vice president of consumer products, Christina Miller. Cynthia Rapp is our creative director in California, and she is building her team with Rick Blanco, who recently was named director of hard goods design. The search for a soft goods design person is still ongoing.

Q: Does Cartoon Network have any plans to act as an agent for outside properties, perhaps other licensors broadcasting on Cartoon Network?

A: At this point, we're focused on a relatively limited number of properties. Our No. 1 objective is living up to the promise and potential of our key shows such as Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi; Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends; Codename: Kids Next Door; and our new show, Ben 10, which premiered January 13. That is not to say that over time it may make sense to use our management abilities to expand the business opportunities available to us, but my main concern is being really focused and making sure we optimize what's on our plate right now.