David Burke, who has been Universal Pictures’ GM for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland since 2006, has been named chief marketing officer at Lakia. It’s a new position for the animation studio behind the Oscar-nominated pics Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings.

The Oregon-based studio, run by Travis Knight, released its latest pic, Missing Link, in April.

“Dave Burke is an extraordinarily talented marketing professional with over two decades of global movie business experience,” Knight said Thursday. “As we continue to build our studio and the Laika brand, Dave’s counsel and leadership will be of immeasurable value.”

Burke has planned releases on more than 380 titles including 60 that debuted to No. 1 in the Ireland and Northern Ireland markets, including all four Oscar-nominated Laika titles during his tenure. He also helped the local Universal office to back-to-back No. 1 market position in 2017 and 2018, and his recent work includes strategy on Illumination and the Fast & Furious franchises, Get Out, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.

“I am incredibly excited to be joining Laika in this global role,” said Burke. “I have long admired the studio and have watched it go from strength to strength as a creative and visionary force. I am proud to be a part of such a stellar and ambitious team and am looking forward to helping shape the studio’s future.”

Before Universal, Burke worked at Irish independent film distributor Clarence Pictures, the distribution arm of Little Bird Ltd. and Eclipse Pictures.

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