J-T Ladt
HEAD OF DIGITAL STRATEGY, ILLUMINATION
J-T Ladt, Head of Digital Strategy for Illumination, a film and animation studio that produced 3 of the top 10 animated films of all time including Despicable Me, Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, and Sing. Prior to Illumination, J-T was the Chief Content Officer at Fuse Media, a cross-platform media brand for multicultural youth. Under J-T’s leadership, Fuse’s nonfiction and scripted content was honored with NAMIC, Peabody, Imagen, Webby and Telly awards while also receiving multiple Critics Choice and Emmy nominations. J-T also launched the Fuse Content Studio – a unit that produces branded content for the company’s numerous digital platforms and provides programming for its two linear networks (Fuse and FM).
Previous to Fuse Media, J-T was Head of Development for Red Bull TV, the global OTT network launched under his watch. He was instrumental in building the network’s infrastructure, setting up the creative strategy, and commissioning hundreds of hours of long and short form original content. Prior to that position, he was Vice President of Programming and Development at National Geographic Channel. While there, he was tasked with overseeing the West Coast programming team in the Los Angeles office. J-T developed the networks’ top-rated series including Emmy winning Life Below Zero. J-T came to NGC from Renegade 83 (Blind Date, Naked and Afraid), where he served as Head of Development for the production powerhouse. Before joining Renegade 83, J-T was Executive Producer and partner with showrunner James Bruce (Survivor, Apprentice, The Restaurant), where he oversaw both production and development for nonfiction/scripted television and feature films. J-T started his career in the mailroom as an agent trainee at the Gersh Agency.