David Steward II, founder and CEO of Lion Forge Animation, was recently named to The Hollywood Reporter list of The 75 Most Powerful People in Kids Entertainment.
Founded by Steward, Lion Forge Animation won an Oscar with its debut film, Matthew A. Cherry’s 2019 short Hair Love about a Black father’s struggles to do his daughter’s hair for the first time. According to The Hollywood Reporter “the rare Black-owned animation studio, Lion Forge has, under new president and CCO Sperber, stayed true to its mission to produce “diverse stories, authentically told,” including Disney Junior’s Rise Up, Sing Out featuring music by The Roots’ Questlove and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter.”
Some of the other animators that made The 75 Most Powerful People in Kids Entertainment list include: the long time producers of SpongeBob SquarePants, and animators for DreamWorks, Sony Pictures Television, Netflix, Disney, and Nintendo.
Steward II, who grew up in St. Louis and went to Mary Institute and Country Day School, currently serves on the board of Nine Network.
