Category: You’re Hired

MGA Entertainment (MGA), one of the fastest growing and largest privately held toy and entertainment company in the US, has announced it has named Mehran Ravanpay Executive Vice President, Global Manufacturing and Supply Chain. In this role, he will lead the company in implementing continuous improvements and efficiencies, prepare the company for future diversification of manufacturing and vendor relations, and help drive further progress toward the company’s sustainability goals.

The ASTRA nominating committee has announced the new incoming board members that have agreed to serve for a 3 year term. These new board memebers will be recognized at ASTRA’s annual meeting at Marketplace & Academy in Long Beach on Monday morning, June 13th.

Opening a new world to children through the joy of reading has been a lifelong mission for LeVar Burton, so the legendary actor, presenter, director, podcaster and author is taking on a new role as the Chief Reading Officer (CRO) for Osmo from BYJU’S. Burton has been a high-profile advocate of reading for decades and was drawn to the engaging way Osmo from BYJU’S uses technology to help children learn new skills while having fun.

PlayMonster is proud to announce the appointment of Darby Zahradnik to the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association’s (ASTRA) Board of Directors. This appointment supports the company’s continued commitment to serve specialty toy retailers in North America. Zahradnik will serve on the Board of Directors for a three year term, serving through 2025. 

Following a period of acceleration in the company’s growth and production volume, Xilam Animation is further expanding with the appointment of Julie Apperé in the newly created position of Talent Scout – Head of Talent Acquisition and Management.

Fun In Motion Toys is pleased to announce the promotion of Sadie Stewart to the new position of VP of Finance and Administration. She joined the organization in 2021 as the head of finance and has since taken on many additional responsibilities leading to this new departmental leadership role.

Licensing International has announced that nine executives—Casey Collins, Hasbro; Michael Connolly, Retail Monster; Javier Garza, Warner Bros. Discovery; Alexandra Heyd, BurdaVerlag Germany; Tanya Isler, Netflix; Stuart Pollock, Segal Licensing; Marc Schneider, Beanstalk; Kalle Törmä, Flowhaven; and Angell Xi, Jingtian & Gongcheng—were elected by the Licensing International membership to serve three-year terms on its Board of Directors, effective July 1, 2022.

Paramount Global has announced new appointments and hires within its Consumer Products leadership across global toys, games, emerging media, franchise planning and CP marketing divisions. “Staying focused on the consumer is at the heart of everything we do so we have made key updates to the leadership within the organization to maximize our portfolio,” says Pam Kaufman, President, Consumer Products and Experiences, Paramount. “These new remits, along with our new hires, set us up to further grow our franchises from SpongeBob to Star Trek and deliver the best products and experiences for today and the future.”

Mattel, Incorporated has promoted 20-year company veteran Sanjay Luthra to Executive Vice President and Managing Director in the EMEA region. The announcement was made by Mattel President and Chief Commercial Officer Steve Totzke, to whom Luthra reports.