Former Technicolor Animation & Games Production VP Cyrus Mistry Named Chief Operating Officer for Grom’s Award-winning Manila-based Studio, Top Draw Animation

Boca Raton, FL – April 15, 2024 - Top Draw Animation (TDA), a leading global supplier of  premium 2D animation production services, and award-winning division of Grom Social Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: GROM), today announced that the former VP of Technicolor’s Animation Games & Production (India), Cyrus Mistry, has been named TDA’s Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. In his new role, Mistry has relocated from India to the company’s state-of-the-art studio in Manila, Philippines, which was recently featured on CNN in a special about the growing global reliance on the Philippines for goods and services, including premium animation production. Mistry’s appointment was shared by the CEO of Grom Social Enterprises, Darren Marks.

Mistry joined TDA last year as a consultant and, as COO, will now oversee the studio’s operations, including a team of 300+ artists, whose commitment to excellence has delivered 25 years of animated programming for clients and partners around the world. Mistry will tap into his considerable professional biography as he champions exceptional animation production, spearheads partner relations and formulates strategies to lead the studio’s output for its blue chip client roster that has included Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, Disney and Warner Bros., among others.

“Cyrus’ deep roots in animation production and strong executive leadership capabilities position him for great success in this role, ” states Marks. “The TDA family enthusiastically anticipates the benefits his motivational expertise will bring to the organization. ”

Mistry, who most recently served as CEO of Rocksalt Interactive, began his career as a filmmaker, crafting both industrial/corporate content as well as television commercials. His passion for both the creative and business sides of the animation process led  him to transition into animation production over 20 years ago. Prior to Rocksalt, he served as Vice President of Production at Technicolor Animation & Games, India, where he oversaw its significant growth and led the studio to winning seven Emmy Awards for their superlative animation work.  

Acquired by Grom Social Enterprises in 2016, TDA handles production and delivery for a diverse pipeline of animated series, movies, specials and short-form projects. Last month, Grom also entered into a non-binding letter of intent to acquire Texas-based Arctic7, and tap into the $180B gaming market – $20B of which is gaming for kids – and explore synergy opportunities across Grom’s subsidiaries. Arctic7 provides a robust suite of full game and co-development services alongside its own intellectual property development within gaming, and virtual production services for the movie and TV industry. Grom aims to complement its existing entertainment offerings of safe social media for kids and its growing catalog of original intellectual property with a move into gaming and its attendant revenue growth opportunities.

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