Andrew is Chairman of Dublin-based distribution, production and brand management Company, Monster Entertainment
Monster Entertainment is a brand management company which develops entertainment brands and distributes them worldwide. While Monster handles a diverse range of programming in the areas of children’s programming, music and documentaries, the core business is mainstream children’s animation.
Prior to Monster, Andrew ran the Don Bluth companies, which included Europe’s largest animation studio, employing over 420 people, for over 10 years, holding various positions, including that of Chairman prior to the company’s take-over by Newscorp. The Don Bluth studios produced more theatrical feature films than any other studio in history other than Disney, including An American Tail, which, on release in 1986, became the highest grossing animated film of all time.
His initial role in Bluth consisted of a General Management role, wherein he set up a professional management structure for the studio, and a finance role. In the latter role he raised in excess of $160m. for film production comprised of production finance, equity, bank loans and government grants.
He directed the Studio’s distribution and marketing activities and has made major studio output deals, sales agency arrangements and been involved in selling rights on a territory by territory basis. In the marketing area he has had a “hands on” involvement in each territory in the exploitation of certain of the studio’s films, especially in the all-important area of video. He has been involved in licensing arrangements in detail including making presentations to retailers. In the Interactive area he was president of Don Bluth Multimedia and he co-designed Thumbelina’s Giant Book of Adventures (for CD-ROM and CD-I) for which he made distribution deals and was Executive Producer.
Before Don Bluth’s closure in Ireland, Andrew put together a consortium, which made a fully financed bid to acquire the studio and its library.
Proceeding to Bluth, he was a Management Consultant specialising