Marlo Miazga to lead Sphere Media’s kids division as Jacques Bilodeau retires

Sphere Media president of unscripted and documentaries Marlo Miazga is set to gain oversight of the company’s newly formed kids and family division after Sphere Animation president Jacques Bilodeau announced plans to retire later this year.

Marlo Miazga

With Bilodeau’s departure, the Montreal-headquartered company is set to merge its English-language children’s factual, scripted and animation units under a single division, Sphere Kids and Family.

In her expanded role, Miazga will continue to oversee all of Sphere Media’s other non-scripted output from its Toronto office.

Bilodeau is retiring after more than 30 years in the Canadian animation industry. He is the founder of 2D animation studio Oasis Animation, which was acquired by Sphere Media in 2019 and rebranded to Sphere Animation. His recent animation credits include the Red Ketchup, Riley Rocket and Saving Me.

Prior to officially retiring later in the year, Bilodeau will work with Miazga to fold Sphere Animation into the new kids and family division. Miazga will be supported by Andrea Griffith, who is being promoted from director of English unscripted content to VP of development and content for kids and family.

In addition, Ghislain Cyr, who founded Sardine Productions, which was acquired by Sphere in 2022, has been named creative director, while Sphere Animation VP of operations Judith Beauchemin will transition into a new role as VP of production and post-production within Sphere Kids and Family.

“Jacques [Bilodeau] has undoubtedly been a fundamental contributor to the success story of Sphere,” said Sphere Media president and CEO Bruno Dubé.

“As a colleague, entrepreneur, professional and creative, I am profoundly grateful to him for giving us such a significant time in his illustrious career. Those shoes can never be filled, but I’ve watched Marlo’s stewardship over the past couple of years of an innovative, diverse and award-winning slate of kids and family shows. I know she is perfect for the job of creating something new with the cohesion and oversight needed for the ambitions we hold.”

Miazga added: “This powerful combination of one of the world’s most recognised animation service providers with the capacity for brilliant original IP creation means we can now confidently stake our claim as a major global player in this sector.”