The executive brings to Pocket.watch almost 30 years of growth experience at companies such as Mattel, Nickelodeon, NBC Universal and Zag Entertainment. 

Kids and family entertainment company Pocket.watch has announced the appointment of Manuel Torres Port as its new global head of consumer products. He will oversee all consumer products licensing for Pocket.watch brands, focused on the growth of each franchise and the launch of new ones.

Manuel will help Pocket.watch navigate new international markets and brings with him almost three decades of growth experience at leading companies such as Mattel, Nickelodeon, NBC Universal and Zag Entertainment where under his leadership his deals have contributed to over $1b in net royalties throughout his career.

“We are thrilled to add such a seasoned and dynamic global consumer products licensing executive to the Pocket.watch family – which truly upgrades our leadership in this important division,” said Xavier Kochhar, COO/CFO of Pocket.watch. “Manuel is a force and I am excited to have him by my side as we execute Pocket.watch’s long term monetization growth strategy for our licensing business.”

Manuel said: “I couldn’t be more excited to join Pocket.watch at this pivotal moment. I have admired for some time the power of Pocket.watch and its disruptive force in the entertainment industry, and I am grateful to Xavier and Chris for inviting me in to contribute to the company’s very bright future.”

While at Zag Entertainment, Manuel was instrumental in the consolidation of key strategic commercial global deals around its top IP including the worldwide phenomenon Miraculous LadyBug. He oversaw NBCUniversal’s Consumer Products global portfolio of franchises including Illumination Entertainment Animation (Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, and Sing), Jurassic World, Fast & Furious, Universal Monsters, Trolls, Spirit, Curious George, among many others, and was instrumental in the consolidation of Dreamworks Animation Consumer Products into NBC. He served in various global roles at Nickelodeon both in New York and Miami, and was key in the relaunch of worldwide franchise Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

In the early ’90s, Manuel joined Mattel Mexico and moved to the US for various international roles around brand development, category management and key account development.

Manuel served on the board of directors of the Toy Association, the first Latino on the board, Toy Foundation and Breastcancer.org.