ALUMNI News - Fanshawe College

intellectual property, we would
come along and say, we think that
can become a TV series or some
kind of audio-visual production.”
The process of taking a creation
from its original form to another
format is complex. First, Nelvana
has to acquire the rights from the
person who created the work.
That’s where Dale would come
in. “Once we gain the rights to
adapt the characters and content,
we would get into discussions
not only about the commercial
arrangements but also about the
approval process along the way,”
explains Dale.
Just about that time, Nelvana
was a company in transition and
Dale decided to take a break.
In 1998, he joined a colleague
who was working at an outside
law fi rm. With a keen interest in
copyright issues, Dale also enrolled
in a part-time Masters of Laws
program in Intellectual Property
at Osgoode Hall through York
University.
While working with the law fi rm,
Nelvana continued to provide him
with legal work. “I got to know the
new general counsel at Nelvana
pretty well,” recalls Dale. “He said
that they wanted to establish an
international distribution operation
in Ireland and that I’d be perfect to
start it up.”
So, while Dale had never been
to Ireland, he and his wife did not
have children yet so they felt free
to go. Just as he was working to
complete his Master’s thesis, he
rejoined Nelvana and set out for a
six-year adventure in Ireland and
England.
Dale set everything up in Ireland
from scratch and it worked out
well because the government of the
Shannon-side region offered tax
incentives to companies engaged in
intellectual property work.
As Managing Director of Nelvana
International, Dale focused on
international licensing activities
which sold programs to broadcasters
“Creating animation
programs is an incredibly
complex business to
fi nance. A show can
cost you anywhere from
$8 to $10 million for
26 half-hour episodes.
No one really has
that kind of
money lying
around.”
around the world. After three and a
half years in Shannon, Dale went to
London, England which is more of a
hub for fi nanciers.
“Creating animation programs
is an incredibly complex business
to fi nance. A show can cost you
anywhere from $8 to $10 million
for 26 half-hour episodes. No one
really has that kind of money
lying around,” explains Dale.
“While the Canadian government
has negotiated treaties with
other countries to allow fi lm and
television productions to be done
in a team context, it makes putting
together a patchwork of fi nance
partners very complex and time
consuming.”
Dale’s expertise in bringing
such parties together gave him
excellent success and confi dence,
but on the family side of life it
was time for a change. In Ireland,
he and his wife had welcomed
twin boys and a third son. Then
in England, they had a baby girl.
“When our children started
school, we decided it was time to
come home. We wanted them to
be in the Canadian school system
and for all of us to be closer to
family,” says Dale.
While the family situation was
one factor, there was another one
brewing at Nelvana. “One of the
main business reasons for my
coming back to Toronto was to
help pull the company together
from a strategic point of view,”
says Dale.
He was in a unique position
to do so, given his international
exposure and expertise in
business and legal issues on both
the development and distribution
sides. “In my current role, I make
certain that we all try to pull in
the same direction to accomplish
our fi nancial and creative
objectives,” explains Dale.
Since returning to Canada in
August 2005, Dale has been
balancing life as a senior level
legal executive and doting Dad.
When asked how he manages
everything, Dale is quick to credit
his wife and he sums up his
position with a relaxed smile:
“Well, with four young children at
home watching cartoons, I have
my own little focus group, so that
helps.”
Fanshawe College Alumni News Spring 2006 7
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