Alexia Gates-Foale appointed Executive Director – Content – Flying Bark Productions today announced the appointment of Alexia Gates-Foale as its Executive Director of Content.
The announcement follows Australia’s highly anticipated streaming regulation coming into effect on 1 January 2026 and the company’s recent successes with its independent productions including Tales from Outer Suburbia (ABC/BYU).
Flying Bark is growing its independent IP-driven and original kids and family slate partnering with international and local storytellers in line with the expansion of its footprint in Los Angeles, Madrid and Sydney. The company will continue to work closely with global partners on client productions, pushing the limits of animation for global audiences.
Gates-Foale will lead Flying Bark’s independent content strategy worldwide, steering the creative vision and production for original IP across kids and family, as well as scripted originals under the company’s new indie label After Bark, partnering with the company’s local and international development executive team.
“I’m incredibly honoured to step into this role at such a pivotal moment for our company as we grow and diversify our business with new creative talent, producing partnerships and the expansion of production in Europe and North America. Flying Bark has always believed in the power and universality of crafting stories for local and global audiences and I’m excited to help lead the next chapter,”
– said Gates-Foale.
Gates-Foale joined Flying Bark in 2008 and has played a pivotal role in the global expansion of the studio, fostering a collaborative production and creative culture across its locations. Most recently as Director of Production, she has overseen the entire project pipeline while producing an expanding range of original content.
Gates-Foale recently produced the animated adaptation of Shaun Tan’s Tales from Outer Suburbia, which premiered at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and is now available to stream in full on ABC iview in Australia and BYUtv in the USA.
She is also producing Zac Power, a major Australian animated feature film based on the iconic book series. Both projects are prime examples of Flying Bark’s commitment to meaningful local stories with global appeal.
Other producing credits on original content include 100% Wolf, 200% Wolf, FriendZSpace, Maya the Bee Movie and Blinky Bill: The Movie.
Gates-Foale will continue to oversee flagship client collaborations, including Netflix’s highly anticipated animated Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 and Minecraft series, as well as an animated Ghostbusters series (Sony/Netflix).
“Flying Bark is going from strength to strength, and Lex has been instrumental in driving our growth and creative excellence. With new opportunities emerging for locally made screen content, I’m thrilled to see our Australian slate flourish under her leadership. There is no one better placed to guide Flying Bark into this next era,”
– said Flying Bark CEO Barbara Stephen.
Rounding out the leadership team, Flying Bark also recently appointed Matthew Mupfanochiya as its new Director of Operations to lead operational functions across the studio’s three international locations, overseeing facilities, IT, people and culture, and production support.
Mupfanochiya brings more than 17 years of experience across senior operational roles in some of Australia’s most innovative technology companies. His background includes senior roles at Canva and Atlassian, where he specialised in executive support, business optimisation and driving large-scale organisational growth.
“Flying Bark sits at a really exciting intersection of creativity and technology, and that’s exactly where I love to work,”
– said Mupfanochiya.
“The studio has built a remarkable reputation for world-class animation made right here in Australia, and I’m thrilled to bring my experience in scaling fast-growing organisations to support the artists, producers and teams who make that possible.”
Media Release – Flying Bark Productions
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Alexia Gates-Foale appointed Executive Director – Content
