Simon joins ViacomCBS Consumer Products with over 20 years experience in consumer products across Europe and South America.

ViacomCBS Consumer Products (VCP) has appointed Simon Leslie as vice president, Consumer Products for Southern Europe, Middle East and North Africa (MENA). He will dual report to Mark Kingston, senior vice president, International Licensing of VCP and Thomas Goller, executive vice president and chief operating officer of ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) Europe, Middle East Africa and Asia (EMEAA). Simon will split his time between VCNI’s London and Madrid offices.

In this role, Simon will be responsible for licensing revenues and managing teams across France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East and Africa, which make up a subsection of the newly structured VCP team for EMEAA. He will oversee the retail sales and marketing division across the region, and manage global partnership activity locally with the heads of markets, regions and categories.

Simon joins ViacomCBS Consumer Products with over 20 years experience in consumer products across Europe and South America in both emerging and mature markets. Most recently, he served as managing director at Hasbro Italy, responsible for leading seven functions – consumer products, sales, marketing, trade marketing, finance, human resources and IT. Prior to that, he was managing director at Hasbro Chile, Latin America’s most successful market, developing global strategic plans and spearheading all commercial functions, human resources, finance and operations. He also built Hasbro’s core brand market presence at Hasbro Portugal, after moving up the ranks at Hasbro UK.

Mark Kingston commented: “Simon has comprehensive knowledge of consumer products and the ability to adapt global strategies to local market needs and opportunities, which will help us grow our international presence and support our partners in Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Simon is a stellar addition to the team responsible for these important territories.”