Colossal Bioscience hires new chief marketing officer

Colossal Bioscience, a startup bringing back woolly mammoths and other extinct species, announced it has hired Emily Castel as its new chief marketing officer.

Castell previously served as chief marketing officer, president and brand officer for Teton Ridge, an omnichannel entertainment company.

Castel brings global entertainment and consumer brand experience to Colossal and will lead the company’s international efforts to expand its brands, experiences, consumer products and emerging media assets.

“It is important for Colossal to communicate the importance of scientific findings to consumers across all mediums and to focus on de-extinction and conservation education,” said Ben Lamb, CEO and co-founder of Colossal News. stated in the release. “Emily is the perfect global brand leader to lead Colossal there, given her extensive entertainment background, global consumer marketing knowledge, and proven track record in franchise marketing.”

Mr. Castel previously ran the Hollywood creative consulting firm FIVE33, whose clients included Disney, Pixar, Universal, and Paramount. She is responsible for the global marketing of numerous entertainment properties, including Tim Burton’s $1 billion Alice and Wonderland, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and J.J. Abrams’ 2013 Star Trek. We executed our strategy.

In 2013, Castel joined Legendary Entertainment as Chief Marketing Officer after Legendary acquired FIVE33. As a member of the executive team, Castel oversaw all film, television and entertainment launches, including global marketing, licensing, consumer products and event activation. Castel has successfully worked with distribution partners Warner Bros. and Universal on Legendary-produced IPs including Pacific Rim, Godzilla, Jurassic World, Warcraft and Kong: Skull Island. Castel led the development of the mythology of the MonsterVerse franchise, whose development grossed him $2 billion at the box office worldwide.

After leaving Legendary in 2017, Castell started UK-based consultancy Castell Creative, where he served as founder and CEO. During that time, she maintained an advisory role at Legendary Entertainment while focusing on adding strategic value to her studio’s brands and IPs such as Marv’s Kingsman series and Rocketman. .

Now at Colossal, Mr. Castel will lead a growing brand and consumer recruitment team, including newly appointed Vice President of Design Chris Klee. Award-winning design leader of his team, Mr. Klee was previously Chief Creative Officer of Hypergiant Industries.

“I look forward to building the Colossal brand into a market leader in its space and continuing the exciting work that our team has been doing,” said Mr. Castel. “I’m excited to start the next chapter of my career at the world’s first extinction eradication company. This is a great opportunity for Colossal’s pioneering efforts to use entertainment to save species and advance our presence on Earth. This is an opportunity to inspire communities around the world to join our mission and drive innovation in this field.”

Since its launch in September 2021, Colossal has raised a total of $225 million led by the United States Fund for Innovation and Technology (“USIT”) with participation from At One Ventures, West River Group, Paul Tudor Jones, Breyer Capital, Animal Capital, and Bob. Raised $1 million in funding. Nelson, Tim Draper, Victor Vescovo, In-Q-Tel, Builders VC, Peak6, and more.

Colossal was founded by Ben Lamb, an emerging technology and software entrepreneur, and Dr. George Church, a world-renowned geneticist and serial biotechnology entrepreneur. Colossal develops disruptive technologies to recover extinct species, protect endangered species, and repopulate critical ecosystems that support the continuation of life on Earth.