Company Profile

HISTORY

Fun Characters (FCI) was established in the Philippines in 1991 when it was appointed as the Marketing Licensee for Disney Consumer Products. Spearheaded by Filipino-Chinese businessman George T. Yang and Managing Director for the Philippines, V. Beibi Salazar, FCI established Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and other Disney brands as the #1 character license in the country. Since its inception, FCI has consistently delivered Disney magic to its consumers through fun, entertaining and high-quality products as well as through the staging of major retail events and tie-in promotions.

FCI continued to expand and was appointed Marketing Licensee for Disney Consumer Products in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Brunei in January 1, 2002, taking over Disney's local operations. Management is comprised of experienced staff of Disney Consumer Products in Singapore and Thailand led by nine-year Disney veteran, Roger Lim. In 2004, FCI cemented its commitment to Disney licensing by opening two new offices - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Jakarta, Indonesia.

Under FCI's stewardship, Disney's Consumer Products business in Southeast Asia grosses over $300 Million in wholesale annually. With over 300 sub-licensee relationships managed regionally, FCI's expansion and integration opens gates to new businesses and opportunities. With company-wide support and a close working relationship with its principal, licensees and partners, FCI will continue be a leader and innovator in character licensing and brand development.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Fun Characters’ strength lies in its experienced and accomplished management team.




GEORGE T. YANG
George is the Founder, President and Chairman of the Fun Characters Group of Companies since its beginnings in 1991. He brings with him over 25 years of experience in the licensing business, as he is also concurrently the local Philippine partner of McDonald’s Corp. in the Philippines. George opened the first McDonald’s franchise in the Philippines in 1981, and is responsible for the chain’s growth to over 230 stores today. Mr. Yang is also the President and Chairman of First Georgetown Ventures, Inc., HAVI Food Service (Philippines), Inc., and is currently acting as Vice Chairman of the Board of Megaworld Properties and Holdings, Inc.

Mr. Yang graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and holds an M.B.A. from the prestigious Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, University of Pennsylvania.




     


KRISTOPHER S. YANG
Kris has been Director of Finance and Business Development at Fun Characters since 2002, based in Singapore. Prior to FCI, Kris was an Associate at Lehman Brothers Investment Banking in New York and Hong Kong, specializing in corporate finance, strategy, and Mergers and Acquisitions. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.







VICTORIA C. SALAZAR
Victoria set up FCI (Philippines) in 1991 and has been its Managing Director since then. From an insignificant brand and retail presence, she has steered the Disney brand to the number #1 position in the country.

Establishing the Disney brand in the local market, she led her team in developing a wide-range of products across all categories and brands and launched these at major retail stores nationwide. Beibi, as she is known by her peers, has executed marketing programs that have raised the level of marketing character brands in the business. The success of Fun Characters (Phils.) could be attributed to her creative vision, sound relationships with retailers, promotional partners and licensees.

Prior to joining FCI, Beibi was Group Marketing Director at The Coca Cola Export Corporation (Philippines).

She holds an MST Mathematics degree from the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines.




     


ROGER LIM
Roger is Managing Director and Head of FCI’s licensing business in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. He brings with him over 9 years experience at The Walt Disney Company, where he was formerly Area Director — ASEAN. Under his management, Disney merchandise licensing grew significantly to be one of the top three licensing yields per capita of Disney worldwide. Prior to his tenure at Disney, Roger was Franchise Manager at 7-Eleven Singapore, where he managed a chain of more than 100 stores.

Roger is a graduate of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and has completed the Executive Development Program at Kellogg School, Northwestern University.







ANITTITA BUASUB
Anittita has been the Country Manager for FCI (Thailand) since December 2002. She has gained an in-depth knowledge and understanding of Thailand’s character merchandise licensing business from the time she joined Disney Consumer Products (DCP) in 1996 and Fun Characters Int’l. in January 2002. During this time, she has been the one responsible for developing a strong food and personal care line for DCP in Thailand.

Prior to her journey at Disney, Anittita was an Account Manager at Lintas Thai, and was responsible for the advertising and marketing plan for one of it’s highest billing account, Unilever : Wall’s Ice Cream.

Anittita holds and M.B.A. Marketing degree from Assumption University in Bangkok and a B.A. Economics degree from the University of Washington (USA).




     


DENNIS TAN
Dennis has been the General Manager for FCI (Malaysia) since April 2003. He was at the forefront of many of Disney’s retail initiatives, from branded Disney corners to distinct and unique Disney mall events since he joined Disney Consumer Products in 1996.

Dennis is currently also responsible for growing the Disney apparel, accessories and footwear business for Malaysia.

Before joining Disney, Dennis served as promotions manager for Takashimaya Singapore and undertook retail events and promotions planning and execution for both the department store as well as shopping centre.

Dennis graduated from the Singapore Polytechnic and currently holds a Masters in Social Science from the University of South Australia.







PAULINE HIU
Pauline Hiu is the General Manager for FCI Singapore responsible for driving the Disney Brand and the sales of Disney Consumer Products through innovative marketing campaigns.

Having joined Disney in 1996, she has accumulated in-depth market knowledge and expertise in character merchandise licensing.

She has developed the Toys and Hardlines in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia and will continue to push new horizons in this business.




     


MOCHTAR SARMAN
Mochtar Sarman is the General Manager for Indonesia and is based in Jakarta since October 2004. 

Mochtar joined Disney Consumer Products in 1997 as Creative Manager for Indonesia before moving to Singapore to take on the role of Regional Product Development Head for Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

In 2002, Mochtar was appointed Business Development Manager for Indonesia and helped to grow the licensing business by building strong relationships with local retailers and licensees. He has executed successful marketing programs with Indonesian mall partners in Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung and Semarang.

Mochtar holds an M.B.A. degree from Woodbury University, Burbank and Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Design from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, USA.