Members of the toy and games industry mourn the loss of industry veteran and former NPD Group analyst Anita Hamil Frazier, who passed away on March 3 at just 55 years of age.
Frazier spent the majority of her working career in sales and marketing in the entertainment and video game industries. She worked for Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Vivendi Universal Games in executive sales and marketing positions. She spent 12 years with NPD as an executive director representing both its video games and toys practices, and was responsible for both client and business development. Most recently, she was senior vice-president of marketing and sales for IDW Publishing in San Diego, Calif.
Anita was a frequent speaker at The Toy Association’s PlayCon conferences, where she would share insights with industry professionals about sales trends related to the toy and video game industries.
“Anita would always set the tone for her presentations by opening with a funny, oh-so-real comment or anecdote about being a mom to four active boys. She would get the audience laughing and relaxed, and she was a great public speaker,” says Marian Bossard, executive vice-president of global market events at The Toy Association. “We are sorry to hear of her passing and extend our condolences to her family. She will be greatly missed.”
Frazier developed many lasting relationships over the course of her career, and took great pride in mentoring junior executives with whom she worked. She was married to her husband, Grant, for 29 years and had four sons, Alexander, Rhys, Kevin, and Aidan. The family most recently lived in Carlsbad, Calif. after living in Amherst, N.H. for seven years.
She received both a Bachelor’s of Arts in Communications (graduating magna cum laude), and a Master’s of Business Administration from UCLA (Class of 1991). While an undergrad, she had the opportunity to be a flag-bearer for the closing ceremonies for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
She is survived by her husband, sons, sister Melisa, brother Jeffrey, and a large extended circle of family and friends. A celebration of her life was held on Thursday, March 14 at El Camino Memorial-Encinitas.