Russell Hicks Email and Phone Number

Russell Hicks is the rare media executive who possesses both excellent business acumen and creative brilliance. From Teddy Ruxpin to Scooby-Doo to SpongeBob SquarePants, he has spent the past 30 years establishing an extraordinary career building world-renowned brands and iconic properties that have defined children’s entertainment.Hicks is the mastermind behind the most robust development and production slate in Viacom’s history, overseeing more than 500 new episodes over the past two years across live-action, animation, movies and multiplatform projects as part of Nickelodeon’s deep commitment to new content for the next generation of kids.Hicks is also ushering in a new paradigm for Nickelodeon as a multiplatform studio, recently greenlighting the network’s first television program that originally was a digital short-form series. He has reinvented and re-energized every part of Nickelodeon Animation Studio, cementing it as the only creator-driven studio in the industry. Additionally, he is overseeing the build, design and programming of the new Nickelodeon Studios campus, which is set to open in autumn 2016. Hicks has been a trailblazer in fostering an environment at Nickelodeon where new talent, writers and producers can incubate new ideas and work at the network. In animation, he created multiple new development pipelines, talent outreach and mentoring efforts, including an animated shorts program to attract new talent and projects.Hicks founded Nickelodeon’s Artists Collective, which connects experienced creatives with young hopefuls to amplify artist-to-artist communication and mentorship. He has also championed efforts for the Writers Fellowship, which gives up-and-coming writers hands-on experience working on current live-action and animated series. In addition,. In 2015, Hicks partnered with Variety for the inaugural “10 Animators to Watch” event, which honored industry veterans and a rising class of talented artists.