Clive Smith hands over the reins to Nic after eight years at the company, as he moves into a consulting role.
L-R: Nic Aldridge and Clive Smith.
Bandai UK has announced the promotion of general manager, Nic Aldridge, to the position of managing director, from 1st April. The move comes as incumbent managing director, Clive Smith steps into a consulting role after being with the company for eight years.
Clive Smith joined the company in 2010 as commercial director, moving through the ranks to general manager and finally taking the senior position of managing director. During his eight years he successfully managed the major relocation of the UK Office from Southampton to Richmond at the end of 2016. His leadership ensured the company retained the majority of team members despite the move, while also driving Power Rangers to the No. 1 Action Figure Property and winning Boys Property of the Year at Toy Fair in the same year.
The promotion of Nic Aldridge to Clive’s outgoing post comes just 12 months after he joined the company in 2017. Nic will be supported by Smith in a consultancy role until September 2018.
Clive commented: “I have really enjoyed my time at Bandai UK and I’m sad to be leaving such a great team, but I feel that I will be leaving it in good hands. It’s a pleasure to have worked with Nic in the past 12 months and I am impressed with the progress made in his first year.”
“It is with Nic’s help and experience that we have made great headway into reinvigorating our business with the development of our own IP, as well as the introduction of key third party properties into our portfolio,” he continued. “It’s a very exciting time for the company with many positive changes being implemented, and I am delighted that I have the opportunity to be still involved in a small way.”
Nic added: “The past 12 months have moved very quickly. It has been great to have worked with Clive and I am look forward to receiving more of his sage advice in the coming months in my new role. I could not have wished for a more supportive mentor during my first year at Bandai. Now I am looking forward to working closely with the team and building on the strong success that we had at the end of 2017 which is carrying into 2018. I echo Clive’s sentiments too – there are exciting times ahead for this year and beyond.”
