Film industry veteran David Burke has just been appointed to the new position of chief marketing officer (CMO) at LAIKA, the Oscar-winning animation studio behind Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings and Missing Link. Burke joins LAIKA from Universal Pictures, where since 2006, he was general manager for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The announcement was made today by Travis Knight, LAIKA’s president & CEO.

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

Throughout his career, Burke has planned releases on more than 380 titles, including 60 that debuted to No. 1 in the Ireland and Northern Ireland markets. From 2008 to 2018, he delivered six No. 1 titles of the year at the Ireland box office. He led the local Universal office to an unprecedented back-to-back No. 1 market position in 2017 and 2018. Burke delivered €40 million for Illumination and Universal at the Irish box office, planning the releases of each of the Despicable Me franchise titles through to The Secret Life of Pets 2. During his time at Universal, Sing debuted to the biggest opening of all-time for an original IP animation at the local box office.

Burke was also involved with the releases of the Fast & Furious franchise films; Martin McDonagh's In Bruges; local box office hit Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie (biggest ever opening day for a local film), Get Out, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Nanny McPhee 2, The Lorax, Mama Mia Here We Go Again and the LAIKA titles Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, and Kubo and the Two Strings.

“I am incredibly excited to be joining LAIKA in this global role,” Burke said. “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.”

Prior to Universal Pictures, Burke worked with leading Irish independent film distributor Clarence Pictures, the distribution arm of Little Bird Ltd. and Eclipse Pictures, where he was involved in releasing a wide range of Irish and International films. He also has extensive experience in film specific third-party promotions during his time with Halo, where he worked with Twentieth Century Fox and United International Pictures.

Burke is a former chairman of The Industry Trust, which promotes the value of copyright and creativity in Ireland’s film, television and video industry. He holds a Film Studies MA from University College Dublin as well as an MBA from DIT Business School.

Source: LAIKA