Conrad Montgomery joins Nick as VP current series; internal promotions include Dana Cluverius to Senior VP current series, Claudia Spinelli to Senior VP development and Kelly Gardner to VP current series.
BURBANK – Nickelodeon Animation has announced several new appointments in key senior leadership roles. Conrad Montgomery has joined as vice president, current series, animation. He will serve as an executive in charge (EIC) overseeing the production of various animation series from greenlight to final delivery, working in tandem with creators, executive producers and key leadership to help drive the creative vision of animation series for both Nickelodeon and its burgeoning studio business.
Also announced are three executive promotions in Nickelodeon’s animation development and current series departments: Dana Cluverius has been promoted to senior VP, current series animation; Claudia Spinelli has been upped to senior vice president, animation development; and Kelley Gardner has been promoted to vice president, current series animation. The announcement was made by Nickelodeon Animation president, Ramsey Naito.
Cluverius and Spinelli will continue to report to Naito; Gardner will be reporting to Cluverius; and Montgomery will be reporting to Cluverius. All executives are based at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio headquarters in Burbank.
“I am incredibly excited to see Conrad, Dana, Claudia and Kelley take on these roles as we grow our original and franchise animation slate,” commented Naito. “Over time, they have demonstrated their undying passion for developing new content and delivering successful shows to Nick’s line-up. These animation veterans are invaluable members of our creative team, and I look forward to their leadership in our animation group.”
Prior to joining Nickelodeon, Montgomery was senior director, current series at Cartoon Network, supervising the award-winning Adventure Time, Regular Show, Steven Universe, and the Daytime Emmy-nominated Craig of the Creek. He served as a development and current series executive at Walt Disney Television where he worked on Fish Hooks, Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil and Motor City. Earlier in his career, he was a creative executive at Lions Gate Films where he worked on such films as Confidence and Monster’s Ball.
In Cluverius’ new role she will oversee the current series department and continue to serve as executive in charge of the animated series The Loud House, which was just renewed for a sixth season, and the top-rated The Casagrandes. She also collaborates with Nickelodeon’s network colleagues to produce ancillary content, while also ensuring episodes successfully deliver for a global audience. She previously worked on the long-standing fan favorite The Fairly OddParents, Breadwinners and The Penguins of Madagascar. Prior to joining Nickelodeon, Cluverius was vice president, current programming and scheduling at Kids’ WB and worked closely with Warner Bros. Animation. While there, she supervised over ten years of kids programming and was responsible for several award-winning series including Tom & Jerry, X-Men: Evolution, Static Shock and Scooby-Doo.
Spinelli manages the development pipeline of all-new animated franchise content, while identifying potential creators, showrunners, writers, and directors. Some of her current projects include: Star Trek: Prodigy; the upcoming Rugrats reboot; the first-ever SpongeBob SquarePants spinoff Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years’; Big Nate; and Middlemost Post. Over the years, she has served as EIC on SpongeBob SquarePants, Sanjay and Craig, and Harvey Beaks. Her career began at Nickelodeon in 2000 in the development department, before expanding her role by joining the current series group as a creative executive overseeing the brand management of SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents and Avatar.
Gardner is EIC on SpongeBob SquarePants, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years and the upcoming Star Trek: Prodigy. She has worked on over a dozen hit animated series, including The Fairly OddParents; Sanjay and Craig; Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness; and The Penguins of Madagascar. She first joined Nickelodeon in 2006 as an assistant in the current series department. Prior to joining Nickelodeon, Gardner served as a production assistant on the feature Over the Hedge where she supported film production in all stages. She is a member of Colour Entertainment and she is the Women in Animation (WIA) Ambassador for Nickelodeon Animation.
Source: Nickelodeon
