THE NERD HERD
Asaph “Ace” Fipke – Supreme Commander, C.E.O. and Founder
With several hundred episodes of animated television to his credit, Nerd Corps’ Supreme Commander, Asaph “Ace” Fipke has established himself as one of North America’s top creators in children’s entertainment and property development. With a rare blend of expertise in the creation, production and financing of animated television and feature length productions, Fipke spearheads the overall galactic strategy of Nerd Corps Entertainment.
Fipke founded Nerd Corps in 2002 to produce 39-episodes of The Story Hat’s/Alliance Atlantis’s Dragon Booster, which won a 2005 Gemini for Best Animated Series. Building on that success, he created and executive produced the company’s first original series, Gemini Award-nominated Storm Hawks. The action comedy series launched in 2007 and saw unprecedented 52 episode orders from all its broadcasters right out of the gate. Since then, Fipke has overseen and executive produced all series coming out of the studio, including Hot Wheel’s: Battle Force 5 for Mattel, Inc. and original comedy series League of Super Evil, and is creator and executive producer on comedy series Rated A for Awesome and Endangered Species, and the new action comedy Slugterra, launching in 2011 on Disney XD.
Prior to Nerd Corps, Fipke produced and did creative development on such hit series as Transformers: Beast Wars, Transformers: Beast Machines, and executive produced and did creative development on Reboot, Action Man for Hasbro, Heavy Gear and Max Steel for Sony Pictures and the first-ever animated Barbie movie for Mattel, Barbie in the Nutcracker.
Chuck Johnson – Dungeon Master, C.O.O., and Co-Founder
Johnson heads up all production and studio operations at Nerd Corps Entertainment. His technical and creative expertise has played an integral part in assembling one of the industry’s most productive and dynamic animation pipelines. Johnson founded the company with Asaph Fipke in 2002 and produced 39-episodes of The Story Hat’s/Alliance Atlantis’s Dragon Booster, which won a 2005 Gemini for Best Animated Series.
He has since produced several of all of Nerd Corps’ original series, including Gemini Award-nominated Storm Hawks, which saw unprecedented 52 episode orders from all its broadcasters right out of the gate and aired in more than 150 countries. Following the success of Storm Hawks, he was an executive producer on League of Super Evil, which aired in more than 170 territories. Currently Johnson is an executive producer on Rated A for Awesome, in production for a 2011 launch on Disney XD, and a supervising producer on on Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5 for Mattel. Next up will be Endangered Species, in development with Teletoon for a potential 2011 greenlight, and action/comedy Slugterra, which will launch in 2012 on Disney XD.
Starting out as a character animator, Johnson has worked on every aspect of the animation production process in roles such as Supervising Animator, Series Technical Director, Director and Department Head of Animation. His resume includes several episodic and feature length productions, including Casper’s Haunted Christmas, Hasbro’s Transformers: Beast Machines and Action Man, as well as Mattel’s Barbie in The Nutcracker. Prior to Nerd Corps, he was head of The Vancouver Film School’s 3-D Animation and Visual Effects program, where he transitioned the department from a 10-month certificate program to a 12-month diploma program. Johnson was responsible for the creation and delivery of all curriculum and course structure, hiring and managing instructional staff and instructing and mentoring a student body that numbered more than 150.
Ken Faier – El Presidente and Co-Founder
As El Presidente of Nerd Corps, Ken Faier is responsible for the business management and administration of the company’s roster of intellectual properties, including arranging financing, co-production partners and distribution, as well as licensing and merchandising deals.
He has executive produced all of Nerd Corps’ original series, including Gemini Award-nominated Storm Hawks, which saw 52 episode orders from all its broadcasters right out of the gate and aired in more than 150 countries with an extensive merchandise line on shelf in North America and Europe. Following the success of Storm Hawks, he was an executive producer on League of Super Evil, which aired in more than 170 territories. Currently Faier is executive producing Rated A for Awesome, which launched in 2011 on Disney XD, and Endangered Species, in development with Teletoon for a potential 2011 greenlight. Third in line is action/comedy Slugterra, which will launch in 2012 on Disney XD.
Prior to Nerd Corps, Faier was Vice President of Production and Distribution for the children’s division at Alliance Atlantis. During his five years with the company, Faier executive produced a number of children’s series including Henry’s World, Ace Lightning, Dragon Booster and Lunar Jim, a stop-motion animated preschool series. Prior to Alliance Atlantis, Faier worked at Brunico Communications for 11 years, where his career spanned publishing, events, Internet development, marketing and general management. As Executive Vice President and Publishing Director he spearheaded the development and extension of Brunico’s core brands including, among others, KidScreen, the leading international business publication about the kids entertainment business.
Tina Chow—Director of Production Resources
As the Director of Production Resources Tina Chow plays a key role in defining and optimizing procedures and maximizing production workflow in order to ensure all of Nerd Corps’ series are delivered on time and on budget. She oversees all aspects of production from early development through to post, including recruitment, pipeline analysis, procedures and final delivery. In addition, Chow mentors production management teams in the best and most efficient use of resources on all Nerd Corps’ projects.
With more than a decade of experience in CGI animation and over 100 episodes of content delivered, her Nerd Corps credits include production manager on the Gemini Award-winning series Dragon Booster, line producer on original series Gemini Award-nominated Storm Hawks and producer on Gemini Award-winning and Emmy-nominated Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5. After graduating from Capilano University’s Media Management program in 1999, Chow worked at Mainframe Entertainment as a Production Editor on the animated series Heavy Gear. She went on to hone her technical skills in Post Production and VFX for live action television on such hit series as Supernatural before joining the Nerd Corps Team in 2004.
Nancy Lees—Director of Licensing and Marketing
As Director of Licensing and Marketing at Nerd Corps, Nancy Lees oversees the creation of all marketing, branding, licensed and interactive product related to the company’s roster of intellectual properties, including Storm Hawks, League of Super Evil, and most recently Rated A for Awesome. She is responsible for maintaining the creative integrity of each brand throughout its life cycle, including ads and marketing, interactive media, publishing and toys.
Working directly with the series’ creative development teams and liaising with external partners on opportunity-rich original properties such as Nerd Corps’ newest series Slugterra, she ensures the brand and franchise will be as strong as possible across multiple media. Lees also oversees the design, production and distribution of brand creative materials and works with broadcast, marketing and licensing partners on roll-outs in territories around the world, seeking out collaborative partnerships and new channels for brand extension.
Prior to joining Nerd Corps in 2006, Lees was an editor at KidScreen Magazine, the leading international business publication about the kids entertainment industry. While there she directed content and wrote about every aspect of the business, including production, licensing, retail and interactive.
Anne Denman – Director, HR & Recruitment
As the Director of HR & Recruitment for Nerd Corps Entertainment, Anne has made it her mission to build-up the company’s ranks with the best and brightest talent in the industry. To support Nerd Corps’ position as a 360-degree IP creation and management house, the top priority lies in building a solid storytelling foundation, and unique and innovative execution for every new property. Anne takes a unique “creative first” approach to recruitment where knowing the artists—their blue-sky dreams, their skills and strengths—aids in finding the best talent to develop Nerd Corps’ slate of award winning series from inception through production, interactive development, marketing and licensing.
Anne has an extensive background in the animation industry that spans over two decades. Most recently, she led the HR and Recruitment team at DHX Media Vancouver (formerly Studio B Productions) for four years. Her roster of credits includes Kid vs Kat, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Martha Speaks, Littlest Pet Shop and Badly Drawn Roy.
Prior to that, she managed the Vancouver Film School Classical Animation Department for seven years and worked on the inaugural Platform International Animation Festival in Oregon. Anne cut her teeth at one of Vancouver’s earliest animation houses, International Rocketship Limited, where she worked on numerous Indie productions such as the award-winning animated short film, Gary Larson’s Tales from the Far Side.
Elyot Waller – General Counsel, Nerd Corps Entertainment
In his three-year tenure as General Counsel for Nerd Corps Entertainment Elyot Waller has provided business and legal advice on all aspects of the development, financing, production and distribution of Nerd Corps’s slate of both original IP and service work, including Storm Hawks, League of Super Evil, Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5, and Rated A for Awesome.
As part of a B.C.-based production company with an integrated interactive division, Waller is highly invested in the ongoing convergence of television and new media, particularly in the evolution of the recently launched Canada Media Fund. Since joining the BC Branch council of the CMPA, he has worked hard to advance the position of BC producers on a number of issues, such as tax credits for domestic producers and progressive copyright laws. He was integral in helping to bring the 2008 to 2010 animation agreement to a close, and currently sits on both the Industrial Relations Committee of the BC Branch and on the Copyright Committee of the CMPA at the national level.
Prior to joining Nerd Corps, Waller practiced law with leading national and regional law firms and was in-house counsel to Bell Canada. In these positions he gained exposure to the CRTC, the Copyright Board, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and their counterparts in the US and internationally.
Robert Kennedy — Director of Finance
Robert Kennedy has been head of finance for Nerd Corps Entertainment and its various subsidiaries since 2005. He has considerable experience in the financing of Canadian productions –both original content and service, the Canadian federal and provincial tax credit systems, and the production accounting and auditing requirements of Canadian productions. Kennedy has managed the financing and compliance of well over 200 television episodes in his tenure at Nerd Corps, including Dragon Booster, Storm Hawks, League of Super Evil, Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5, and Rated A for Awesome, as well as the financing of Nerd Corps various interactive properties. In 2009, Kennedy brought Nerd Corps International Distribution into membership in the IFC program, making NCID the first media distribution company to do so in BC.
Prior to joining Nerd Corps Kenned was the owner of his own distribution company for seven years with operations and agents across Canada. Robert has a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Economics from Simon Fraser University and is currently in his 5th year with the CGA.