Harry Potter Agency The Blair Partnership Hires Merlin and Amazon Executives

The Blair Partnership, the agency behind "Harry Potter," has appointed Will Obbard and Alex Flanagan to senior roles as it prepares what founding partner Neil Blair calls "the next phase of the business and growth."

Obbard joins from theme park operator Merlin Entertainments, where he spent more than 12 years, most recently as VP of partnerships. Before Merlin, he worked in strategy and M&A at KPMG. At The Blair Partnership he will lead a five-year growth strategy built on new revenue streams — partnerships, new franchises, and mergers and acquisitions — while hunting fresh opportunities for existing clients and intellectual property (the legal rights to creative works that can be licensed and adapted).

"I'm delighted to welcome Alex and Will to The Blair Partnership," Blair said. "Both bring exceptional experience in their respective fields and their appointments significantly strengthen our talented leadership team as we look to the next phase of the business and growth. Together, they bring complementary expertise that will help us delight our clients, turbo charge our intellectual property and harness new opportunities for growth and innovation."

Obbard, an official World Book Day trustee, framed the move in similar terms: "I'm thrilled to be joining The Blair Partnership at such an exciting point in its development. The group has an exceptional portfolio of clients and intellectual property, alongside significant opportunities to build new partnerships and revenue streams."

Who is Alex Flanagan?

Flanagan was appointed group general counsel earlier this year. She arrives after three and a half years in Amazon's global media and entertainment division, where she represented Amazon Music and Prime Video in complex licensing agreements with music rights holders and handled public policy and regulatory matters. Earlier, she served as VP for global digital legal and business affairs at Universal Music Group and as head of legal for Spinnup, UMG's independent artist distribution platform.

"The combination of world-class literary talent, distinctive intellectual property and growing entertainment opportunities creates huge potential to build on its success and unlock new avenues for growth," Flanagan said.

What does this change for the Harry Potter brand?

In practice, the hires add two proven dealmakers to a small agency sitting on unusually valuable IP. Obbard's Merlin background — licensing beloved brands into physical experiences — maps directly onto franchising and partnership revenue. Flanagan's Amazon and UMG licensing experience covers the other half of the equation: negotiated rights for screen, music and digital platforms.

The timing is deliberate. A new television version of "Harry Potter" debuts on HBO and HBO Max this Christmas, an event that will multiply licensing and partnership opportunities around the franchise.

Beyond Potter, The Blair Partnership represents British family brands including The Wombles and the world of Neverland from "Peter Pan." The company offers full-service entertainment representation for authors, creators and IP.

With the HBO series landing at Christmas and a five-year strategy now staffed at the top, expect the agency to push its properties harder into partnerships, franchises and acquisitions over the coming months.