The Toy Association™ Elects Three New Members to Board of Directors & Announces New Advisory Committee

LOS ANGELES, CA | September 17, 2024 — The Toy Association™ announced the appointments of three new members to its Board of Directors and a new Advisory Committee at its September 12th board meeting, which took place in Los Angeles during The Toy Association’s LA Fall Preview market week.

During the meeting, held at Otis College of Art & Design, it was announced that Ehi Oviasu-Kahn, chairwoman of the board at Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment; Vince Klaseus, president of universal products and experiences at NBCUniversal; and Brittany Smith, vice president of merchandising, toys at Walmart, were elected to serve partial terms on The Toy Association Board of Directors. These appointments will be up for election during the next Toy Association Annual General Meeting, where members will vote to confirm their positions for the remainder of their terms.

“We are pleased to welcome Brittany, Ehi, and Vince to our Board of Directors. Their diverse perspectives will be essential in guiding The Toy Association’s work to help members innovate, sell products, seize opportunities, and overcome obstacles,” said Sharon Price John, Toy Association chair and president & CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop. “Our board is deeply committed to serving the needs of the membership and is dedicated to the success and growth of the entire toy community.”

The following appointments to The Toy Association’s Advisory Committee were also announced: Aaron Muderick, founder & executive chairman of Crazy Aaron’s; Christopher Byrne, president of Byrne Communications, Inc.; Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun!; Andy Keimach, founder & principal consultant at Eights Consulting Group; Jane A. Ritson-Parsons, CEO of JRP Company LLC; and Andrew Weiner, managing partner at The Genesis Company.

“Each individual on the Advisory Committee brings a unique skillset and visionary thinking that will help guide The Toy Association’s strategic direction,” said Greg Ahearn, president & CEO of The Toy Association. “We look forward to integrating their thinking into our short- and long-term plans as we navigate the future together. The Toy Association and its Board of Directors appreciate the dedication and passion each brings to this role in service to our members and the broader toy industry.”

The Board of Directors is led by Sharon Price John and the Executive Committee – vice chair, Geoffrey Greenberg (Co-CEO, Just Play, LLC), secretary-treasurer Tim Kilpin (president, toys, licensing & entertainment, Hasbro, Inc.), and executive committee members at large, Jared Carr (SVP, U.S. general manager, LEGO Systems, Inc.) and Vish Chandran (president, K & M International Inc. (Wild Republic).

Oviasu-Kahn, Klaseus, and Smith are joining board members Zabina Kaur Bhasin, M.D. (CEO & founder, In KidZ), Duncan Billing (chair of the board of advisors, Moose Toys LLC), Anne Carrihill (category leader, Toys & Games, Amazon), Wes Hardin (owner, Diverse Marketing), Hiu Lee (chief marketing officer, Horizon Group USA, Inc.), Ashley Mady (president, Zigazoo Kids), Rob Michaelis (vice president of North America brand commercialization, hardlines and consumables, Disney Consumer Products), Jeremy Padawer (chief brand officer, Jazwares), Max Rangel (CEO & global president, Spin Master Corporation), Bryan Scott (VP, DMM toys, Target) and Steve Totzke (president & chief commercial officer, Mattel, Inc.)

Founded in 1916, The Toy Association™, Inc. is the business trade association representing all businesses involved in creating and delivering toys and youth entertainment products for kids of all ages. The Toy Association leads the health and growth of the U.S. toy industry, which has an annual U.S. economic impact of $102.8 billion, and its roughly 900 members drive the annual $41 billion U.S. domestic toy market. The Toy Association serves as the industry’s voice on the developmental benefits of play and promotes play’s positive impact on childhood development. The organization has a long history of leadership in toy safety, having helped develop the first comprehensive toy safety standard more than 40 years ago, and remains committed to working with medical experts, governments, consumers, and the industry on ongoing programs to ensure safe and fun play.

As a global leader, The Toy Association produces the world-renowned Toy Fair™ in New York City; hosts marketplace activities in Los Angeles; engages in state, federal, and international advocacy on behalf of its members; supports the inventor and design community through People of Play™ and its numerous assets and events, including the consumer-facing Chicago Toy & Game Fair; sustains the Canadian Toy Association; acts as secretariat for the International Council of Toy Industries and International Toy Industry CEO Roundtable; and chairs the committee that reviews and revises America’s widely emulated ASTM F963 toy safety standard. The Toy Association’s philanthropic arm is The Toy Foundation™, a 501 (c)(3) children's charity that acts as the uniting force for the collective philanthropy of the toy industry. To date, The Toy Foundation has delivered the joy of play to 32 million children in need worldwide.