Entertainment One (eOne) has promoted Laura Clunie to expand the presence of its Family division in Canada and North America.

Clunie has been named vice president of creative affairs and will relocate from London to the company’s Toronto headquarters from March 2013.

She will oversee the acquisition and development of eOne Family content and will continue to manage production and development executive Lorna Burkle and Lorna Withrington, acquisitions executive, both based in London. Clunie will also manage Swin Chang, director of development, from her new base in Toronto.

With a development slate that includes many shows already signed to major Canadian broadcasters, Clunie’s relocation is hoped to strengthen broadcast ties in the territory and bolster the firm’s co-production partnerships.

Olivier Dumont, managing director at eOne Family, said: “As brand awareness for Peppa Pig continues to increase in Canada and USA, It has become increasingly important to have a dedicated person on the ground to deepen our relations with broadcasters and content owners and scope out new opportunities for kids programming in the region.”

Clunie joined eOne Family in 2008 and worked on the production of popular kids properties such as Peppa Pig and Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom. She previously spent five years at Chorion where she held production and development responsibilities for some of the UK’s biggest children’s properties including The Famous Five, Noddy, Olivia and Mr. Men.