VFX giant DNEG has promoted Erika Burton to join its DNEG Animation arm as its new president. Burton will share both the president title and leadership responsibilities with DNEG Animation President Tom Jacomb.
Burton, who was previously president, VFX Production at DNEG, joins as the company is rapidly expanding its animation team. Her focus will be on production, resource management, training and operations, working closely with Jacomb, who will focus on creative, client management and outreach, and the development of IP and original content.
The news was announced Wednesday at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
“I am delighted to welcome Erika to the team as we continue to establish DNEG Animation as the best place in the industry to build your career,” Jacomb said. “We have more exciting projects, more growth and expansion, and more original content and co-productions on the horizon, and Erika will be absolutely instrumental in helping to ensure that we have a rock-solid foundation upon which to continue building. I’m also delighted that she will be contributing her compassion, warmth and experience to the amazing work that our teams are already doing in putting equality, diversity and inclusivity at the heart of everything that we do here at DNEG Animation.”
DNEG’s first full animated feature “Ron’s Gone Wrong” from Locksmith Animation was released last year through 20th Century, and they’re currently in production on “Nimona” for Annapurna Pictures and Netflix and the animated “Garfield” movie set at Alcon Entertainment and Sony, as well as Locksmith’s next animated title “That Christmas.” They’re also working on an unannounced episodic animated title for a streamer.
Prior to DNEG, Burton had worked within animation for both Disney Animation and DreamWorks. She now leads a team of approximately 850 employees at DNEG Animation working across studios in London, Montreal, Mumbai, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Toronto.
“I feel excited and honored to be joining Tom and the DNEG Animation team,” Burton said. “I have been fortunate enough to work with some immensely talented VFX and animation teams during the course of my career, and I love both disciplines equally. There is something really compelling and challenging about animated filmmaking that keeps drawing me back and this is just a tremendous new opportunity.”
“Working with DNEG’s VFX teams over the last year has been a career highlight for me, but when the invitation came to join Tom, David [Prescott, SVP Creative], Crosby [Clyse, Head of Production] and all of the other talented folks on the animation side of our business, it was one that I could not turn down,” Burton continued. “We have some truly amazing projects in the pipeline at DNEG Animation, as well as some exciting opportunities to push the creative and technical boundaries of animated content production to their limits.”