Spotlight: Anne Loi, Entertainment Partners' President, Canada

Curiosity drives Anne Loi’s approach to leading strategy and operations as President of Entertainment Partners in Canada, “I’m always zooming out to see the bigger picture, not just where things are just today, but where they’re headed and how all the pieces relate to each other.”

Stepping into her role with Entertainment Partners in the spring of 2025, Anne brings over 30+ years of experience that spans finance, operations and M&A. From working with privately owned firms, to Fortune 500 companies, to a scrappy startup turned into an award-winning global media and entertainment company, Anne has seen it all.

With her strategic mindset and a commitment to understanding the core of customer needs, Anne Loi is the go-to expert for taking EP’s Canadian operations to new heights during a global production reset.

Anne Loi’s journey to president

Anne began her career as a Chartered Professional Accountant at Deloitte, after graduating with a BA in Economics from Western University, and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Managing both consumer products and tech IPOs, the job ignited a passion that she carries into her role at EP today. “I’ve always loved understanding how creativity and commerce intersect,” Anne says.

Following Deloitte, Anne moved on to Procter & Gamble where she learned the business from top to bottom, a practice the company employs to expose new recruits to every part of the operation, from manufacturing to finance to marketing. “That experience gave me a real appreciation for how companies create consumer demand,” Anne explains about her time at P&G. “I’ve always been curious about what makes people want to buy something. Accounting and finance are just the aftermath of those decisions.”

After the dot-com boom and bust, and raising money for a company that sold to Cisco, Anne felt the itch to build a company from scratch. That led her to join Decode Entertainment (the predecessor to WildBrain) where she wore many hats beyond accounting—hand-writing paychecks, managing facilities, and purchasing supplies. Five years later, the company went public and changed to DHX Media.

Motivated by growth and a strategic mind, Anne took the opportunity to transition over to operations. “It's easy to get pigeonholed when you're a CPA. People assume that you're just going to eventually be the CFO," she explains. "But that was the pivotal point to getting out of day-to-day reporting and accounting. Instead of looking into the history of the company, I wanted to look into the future, from an operations point of view.”

Over the next 15 years, Anne helped grow DHX Media from a tiny Canadian producer to a global kids and family powerhouse. They acquired 16 companies over that time, including Peanuts, Teletubbies, and Strawberry Shortcake as well as production and distribution rights to other IPs like Sonic and Carmen Sandiego.

Advancement and adaptability

When streamers entered the picture, Anne once again adapted, learning how to integrate into larger organizations. She created partnerships with Sony, LEGO, SEGA, Apple, Netflix, and Amazon by focusing on creating original content and putting together financing to fund projects with them.

After the company's latest acquisition and move into consumer product licensing, WildBrain's CEO asked Anne to rebuild their struggling advertising division. It was a big challenge—advertising to children requires navigating strict regulations while ensuring the company maintains wholesome messaging. Despite being new to advertising, Anne was up for the task. In just two and a half years, she transformed the department from operating at a loss to achieving 120% revenue growth.

Whether it’s finance, operations, M&A, advertising, or AI strategy, every pivot that Anne has made in her career was driven by curiosity and a desire to build and improve. She now carries these experiences into her role as President of Entertainment Partners in Canada.

“We’re a nimble operation here in Canada, inside a big global company, and that tension is exciting,” Anne says. “It’s a puzzle that requires diplomacy and collaboration, and that’s the kind of challenge I thrive on. After decades in kids and family content, this role lets me zoom out and see how the entire production ecosystem works.”

Leading through customer feedback

Customers are key to Anne’s plan of action. She believes problem-solving depends on understanding the needs of customers, and building strategies around them. “My first mission was simple: go see every customer. I wanted to meet EP loyalists, non-believers, and the ones who converted, to learned what made them tick. You can’t improve a company without listening deeply,” she says.

While EP has a healthy market share in Canada, Anne believes growth must come from elevating the quality of EP’s customers, not just expanding volume. She plans to serve this mission by ensuring clients are financially sound, value EP’s offering, and embraces EP's philosophy of helping productions manage their finances smartly, accurately, and efficiently.

Our customers consistently tell us our service and responsiveness are unmatched in Canada," Anne says. "That’s something we’ll continue to protect as we modernize our technology and grow our operations.”

Anne recognizes that studios are tightening budgets, and she’s prepared to adapt. To maximize efficiency, EP’s Canadian operations will leverage technology, data, and smarter workflows, ensuring productions stretch every dollar without compromising creativity.

Passionate about partnership

Canada boasts some of the best crews in the world, along with reliable and competitive tax incentives, making it a go-to hub for productions globally. “Producers see EP as a partner who keeps their workflows seamless, efficient, and compliant, even as the industry evolves" Anne says. "By 2026, I want EP to be known in Canada not just as the premium choice, but as the most trusted partner. The partner who makes production feel effortless."

Anne also appreciates the first-class team she has inherited, recognizing the opportunity to continue building on the confidence entrusted from the global production community.

During her tenure at WildBrain, Anne built and ran incentive administration as part of the production group, so she understands the business from the producer’s side. That perspective drives her to ensure EP clients feel supported from the first estimate to the final refund. “Our goal is to shorten timelines and help productions receive their money faster. Everyone wants to get paid quickly, and the track record at EP shows our files move through the Canadian system among the fastest,” Anne says.

A bright future for Entertainment Partners in Canada

Anne Loi’s story speaks for itself. She is not one to back down from a challenge and thrives on problem-solving, learning every aspect of a company. While the entertainment industry may be changing, she sees this as an exciting time to evolve with it.

Together with the EP team, Anne Loi is stepping into the future with innovation in mind, while also serving customers with a deep sense of care and understanding. This partnership allows EP to continue shaping a smarter entertainment business that is both tech-driven and people-focused.

Learn more about how Entertainment Partners can service your Canadian production, from payroll to incentives administration and beyond. Reach out to the team today!