Ypulse Youth Media Movers & Shakers

Today we bring you another installment of Youth Media Movers and Shakers. We’ve culled through industry publications looking for the recent executive placements we think you should know about. If you have executive news that you want us to highlight in our next “Movers and Shakers,” email me

MTV Networks has acquired Social Express, a social game development company. Social Express co-founder and CEO Tony Espinoza will oversee social gaming strategy and development as Vice President and General Manager of Social Gaming for MTV Networks’ Nickelodeon Kids & Family Group. Neil Souza, co-founder of Social Express and FoulPlay Media, will be Vice President of Technology, Social Games. Both will report to Dave Williams, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Games, Nickelodeon Kids & Family Group. (Press release)

Jimmy Blackburn is appointed VP/Programming Research, Disney Channels Worldwide, where he will report to Kelly Pena, SVP/Research, Disney Channels Worldwide.  Blackburn will be responsible for the TV and digital media research team for the Disney Channels Worldwide portfolio, including Disney Channel, Disney XD, Playhouse Disney (soon to be re-branded Disney Junior), ABC Kids, Radio Disney and their related digital platforms. (Cynopsis Kids)

David Sandler has been named associate director of digital marketing and advertising at Scholastic.  He had been manager of marketing and social media at American Express. (Mediabistro, reg. required)

Bravo has upped Eli Lehrer to vice president, development. Lehrer, who had overseen development and production for the East Coast, continues to report to Andy Cohen, the senior vice president, original programming and development. (MediaPost, reg. required)

Twitter has made another key hire: former Google vet and White House and State Department staffer Katie Jacobs Stanton. According to Stanton’s Tweet stream, she will be leaving her role at the State Department for greener pastures at Twitter. She will be based out of the company’s California office. (TechCrunch)

An agreement in principle has been reached for Disney to sell the Miramax Films name and its 611-picture library for about $650 million to a group led by construction executive Ronald Tutor and Colony Capital, a privately held institutional investment firm run by founder and CEO Thomas Barrack Jr. (THR)

Reality guru Mike Darnell, president of alternative programming at Fox, has signed a new deal that will keep him at the network for at least three more years. Darnell oversees “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” (Media Life)

San Francisco based social gaming company Crowdstar announced the addition of four new veterans to their management team. The first appointed executive is Pete Hawley who will take on the role of VP of Product Development; Mark Hull as VP of Product Marketing & Community; Mike Ouye as Vice President of Monetization & Merchandising; and Robert Einspruch as Director of Business Development. (Social Times)