Category: You’re Hired

Cepia Toys, a renowned leader in the toy industry, is excited to welcome Leslie Peck as the new Head of Sales for North America. Peck, with her extensive 15-year background in both retail and manufacturing sectors, is set to bring a wealth of experience and insights to the St. Louis-based company. Starting her career in toy merchandising at Walmart, Leslie Peck has risen through the ranks, holding senior sales positions at Hasbro Toys before her recent tenure in a significant sales leadership role at Moose Toys. Now based in Bentonville, Arkansas, Peck’s role as a mother to three daughters uniquely positions her to understand the evolving consumer trends and preferences in the toy market.

Spin Master Corporation, a leading global children’s entertainment company, announced the appointment of David Voss as Executive Vice President, Global Toy Design & Development. The newly created role builds on Spin Master’s commitment to creating disruptive play experiences and highlights plans to reinvigorate toy innovation and elevate design for continued growth within the industry. Voss will oversee the co-creation of a best-in-class product development vision and manufacturing strategy, while overseeing all inventor relations, advanced concepts, design, engineering, visual branding and packaging, reporting to Global President & CEO, Max Rangel. 

Penguin Ventures, the licensing and consumer products team within Penguin Random House Children’s UK, has appointed Jess Houston as Senior Category Manager, UK Hardlines. Houston, who is joining Penguin Ventures from Aardman Animations, will report to Commercial Director, David Sprei and will be responsible for growing the UK Hardlines business across the Penguin Ventures’ portfolio of iconic literary children’s brands, including The World of Peter Rabbit; The World of Eric Carle; The World of The Snowman; Flower Fairies and Fun with Spot.

Magformers, a global leader in magnetic construction toys, is pleased to announce the appointment of Sangkeun Lee as its new Chief Executive Officer. Lee, a seasoned business leader with an extensive background in international business and strategic management, will bring his vast experience to drive Magformers’ growth and innovation forward. With a decade of experience managing overseas operations in the USA, China and the EU, Lee brings a strong track record of identifying and improving new business opportunities in both domestic and international markets. His success in executing effective sales strategies, maintaining strong customer and employee relationships, and demonstrating proactive leadership skills will be instrumental in directing Magformers to continued success and achievements in the global market.

Moonbug Entertainment, a part of Candle Media, has announced the appointment of Peter Stone as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Reporting to Rene Rechtman, Chief Executive Officer, Stone will be responsible for Moonbug’s global marketing strategy, as well as the evolution and growth of its brands. Stone joins the team at Moonbug to support the business’ journey building global franchises that resonate with kids and families around the world. Moonbug’s growing brands continue to see significant expansion with Blippi entering the Roblox world, Morphle soon launching on Disney+ and Disney Junior, and the new CoComelon show, CoComelon Lane launching exclusively on Netflix.

 Mattel, Inc (NASDAQ: MAT) announced today that Michelle Mendelovitz has been named Head of Mattel Television Studios. Mendelovitz will oversee the development, production, and distribution of Mattel’s robust slate of episodic content on broadcast and streaming globally. Mendelovitz reports to Josh Silverman, Chief Franchise Officer, Mattel. Ynon Kreiz, Chairman and CEO of Mattel, said: “Michelle is a powerful creative leader with a wealth of experience working with top studios and creators to make innovative, quality content across genres and platforms. We are excited for her to join at a time of such momentum for the company, and for the important role she will play in developing stories that resonate in culture and growing Mattel’s global fan base.”

WildBrain CPLG, one of the world’s leading entertainment, sport and brand licensing agencies, has added two highly experienced executives to bolster its in-house services and commercial teams in London and Munich, respectively. In London, Clare Vosper Mortimer has joined WildBrain CPLG’s in-house services team in the new role of VP, Finance and Operations, overseeing the company’s finance function and enhancing its global in-house service offering for partners as it continues to see significant growth. With new offices opened recently in Indonesia and the Philippines as part of the company’s expansion into APAC—bringing the global total to 23 offices driving business in over 100 territories—WildBrain CPLG’s in-house services team is scaling to better support its partners around the world. Clare’s focus will be on enabling even stronger partner-centric financial and operational services, augmenting WildBrain CPLG’s best-in-class suite of other in-house services which include creative, legal and partnerships. She reports to Maarten Weck, EVP, Global Partnerships and Licensing.

Global independent animation studio ZAG continues to build its brand roster on a global scale and has created a new Franchise Marketing Director role, with the appointment of veteran industry marketing executive Michael Berreth to the position. The announcement was made by Jeremy Zag, Founder and CEO, ZAG. Michael Berreth joins ZAG with over 20-years of experience working on some of the world’s most beloved consumer brands including Disney’s Winnie-the-Pooh and girl property Strawberry Shortcake. In this new role, reporting to Julian Jacob Zag, EVP, Global Operations and Head of Consumer Products, he will be responsible for steering franchise marketing strategy for ZAG’s brands. These include the globally popular Miraculous™, which follows the adventures of secret superheroes Ladybug and Cat Noir as they defend their beloved city of Paris from evil villains; and the cinematic CG-adventure series Ghostforce, which centers on three elementary school students who secretly form a superhero team—the Ghostforce—to fight the ghosts of New York.

Falcon’s Beyond Global, Inc (FBYD) (“Falcon’s” or the “Company”), a global entertainment powerhouse and visionary innovator in immersive storytelling, has announced its largest recruitment effort in the company’s history for its Falcon’s Creative Group business unit, with a goal to double its headcount. The company intends to hire nearly 200 new team members to support unprecedented company growth of creative projects across the globe. Currently headquartered in Orlando, Falcon’s Creative Group is one of the world’s leading themed entertainment and master planning firms, having planned over $100 billion in award-winning experiences where creative vision, compelling design, immersive media, and cutting-edge technology intersect to bring imagination to life. The division is launching its bold plan to recruit hundreds of design, media, and technology specialists in advance of the top industry trade conference, IAAPA Expo, in Orlando.