Latifa Ouaou, Eryk Casemiro Named Executive VPs At Paramount And Nickelodeon Animation

ViacomCBS’s Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation have hired one executive, Latifa Ouaou, and promoted another, Eryk Casemiro, both of whom become executive vice presidents.

Here are the details:

• Latifa Ouaou has been named evp of movies and global franchises for Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation Studio. Ouaou will oversee theatrical and streaming films across both studios, as well as the recently launched Avatar Studios. Upcoming theatrical titles under her purview include The Tiger’s Apprentice (February 10, 2023), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Next Chapter (August 4, 2023), and PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (October 13, 2023).
• She was previously at Illumination, where she executive-produced The Grinch and Minions: The Rise of Gru. Before that, she was at Dreamworks, where she worked on the Shrek franchise, produced Puss in Boots, and co-produced Monsters vs. Aliens.
• Eryk Casemiro has been promoted to evp, global series content for Nickelodeon Animation Studio. He will oversee animation series for preschool and kids ages 6–11 across all formats and platforms.
• Casemiro was previously svp of preschool at Nickelodeon. He was an executive producer on the recent Rugrats reboot.
• Before that, he was svp of creative affairs at Klasky-Csupo Productions, where he led development and production of Nickelodeon shows like The Wild Thornberrys and Rocket Power, as well as Paramount features such as Rugrats Go Wild and The Wild Thornberrys Movie.
• Series highlights for 2022 under Casemiro’s team include Big Nate slated for Paramount+, Tiny Chef, Monster High, Transformers, Star Trek: Prodigy season two, Rugrats season two, Spongebob Squarepants, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years, Hamsterdale, Zokie Sparkleby, Rock, Paper, Scissors from the Intergalactic Shorts Program, Max and the Midknights, and the series strategy for Avatar Studios.
• Ouaou and Casemiro will report to Ramsey Naito, president of both studios.
• Claudia Spinelli, who was svp, animation development, will become svp, series animation for big kids (the ‘big kids’ is part of her official title, the first time we’ve ever seen this used). She will oversee 6–11 animation development and current series for Nickelodeon Animation, and will continue to report to Casemiro.
• Last year, the two animation studios were brought under unified leadership — Naito — for the first time, as part of a reorganization initiated by Paramount Pictures CEO and chairman Brian Robbins.
• Nickelodeon Animation, which continues to operate remotely, has boomed in the pandemic. Naito told Variety that the studio had nine projects in production three years ago, and now has almost 60.