30 UNDER 30
SPONSORED BY
DEAN TEMPEST, 25 Joint Founder, Linkee Limited
In the three months since Linkee launched, Tempest has been instrumental in selling 1,000 units (with another 1,000 arrived at the time of writing). He has also developed relationships with important industry names, secured deals with department stores and filmed a pilot for the Linkee the TV quiz show for an Australian TV channel. Start Up Britain chose Linkee as one of its ‘products to watch’ for its pop up shop in Richmond.
SERKAN UNAL, 27 Brand Manager, Hasbro UK
Unal was featured in last year’s listing, when he was Euro brand manager for pre-school and boys. He has recently taken on a new role, working with the Hasbro UK marketing team with responsibility for Nerf, Super Soaker and Kre-O. Unal joined Hasbro Turkey as a trainee in the licensing department back in February 2007, becoming a full time employee as marketing assistant after graduation. Promotion swiftly followed.
MATT JONES, 28 Head of Member & Special Events, BTHA
Jones looks after the various events that the BTHA runs outside of Toy Fair. Within his remit are the Toy Industry Awards, the BTHA AGM & Industry Day, and Toy Trust fundraising events. In addition, Jones organises the BTHA’s presence at external events. As a BTHA rep on the Toy Trust committee, Jones is also involved in the event planning including last year’s mammoth Three Peaks Challenge which raised over £130,000.
STEVEN RUSSELL, 26 Marketing Executive, Jumbo Games
Now in his third year at Jumbo, and his second time appearing in our listing, Russell has had another strong year. He continues to grow within the firm, with notable achievements in 2012 including the overhaul of
Wasgij.com to an html CMS site, which is now achieving fantastic results and stats. He joined the company fresh from graduating from Northampton University with a degree in
advertising and design.
STUART GRANT, 28 Buying Director, The Entertainer
Another returning exec from last year, Grant continues to build up his reputation as one of the most influential retail figures in the toy business. Grant became full time at The
Entertainer in July 2003, holding various roles including buyer for The Gadget Shop before moving over to buying toys five years ago. He was promoted to buying director three years ago and has enjoyed significant success.
CORINNA HENSON, 22 Senior Account Executive, Norton & Co
Having joined toy
specialist PR firm Norton & Co in the summer of 2011 as a PR assistant, Henson as built up a solid reputation, especially considering this is her first PR role after
university. Achievements include gaining extensive national coverage in The Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and Daily Mirrorfor LEGO Games and its survey story, as well as working with the Harrods events team to re-launch the Cabbage Patch Kids.
DEBBIE STERLING, 29 Founder & CEO, GoldieBox
GoldieBox is a new player in the industry which makes engineering toys for girls. Sterling only launched the firm in September 2012, and since then it has been featured in over 100 publications including The Guardian, The Atlanticand lifestyle blog, Upworthy. She has been invited to speak on national talk shows in the US and at national and international conferences for 2013. Sterling trained in engineering at Stanford.
CLAIRE COOPLAND, 25 Licensing Executive, Rocket Licensing
Coopland joined licensing agent Rocket as a newcomer to the business in 2010. In less than a year, she was promoted to licensing executive, taking charge of her own categories. Coopland has worked with a number of toy companies, with a particular highlight being a deal she did with Sabec for a Scalextric racing app. Most recently, she has been involved in the management of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
LAURA KILLICK, 26 Senior Graphics Designer, Bigjigs
Killick joined the graphics design department of Bigjigs two years ago. Since then she has had huge influence on the company with her
knowledge and creativity. Killick has developed numerous projects including packaging, new product design, website build and design, product photography and more. Many of her products have also been award winners within the toy industry from acclaimed bodies.
ROBYN MORGAN, 28 Licensing Director, Underground Toys
A popular figure within both the toy and licensing industries, Morgan has played a vital role in Underground Toys’ success, working her way up from being PA to MD Andy Oddie. She has been instrumental in signing licences such as Star Wars, Doctor Who, Thomas & Friends, Sonic the Hedgehog, Lalaloopsy and The Annoying Orange. New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesand Mike the Knightlines are due this year.
Gameplan Europe is a business consultancy to the global toy and nursery products industry. We help manufacturers to develop their international business through strategic advice, finding distributors and other types of business partners, and executive search. We have recruited hundreds of toy industry executives across Europe and north America, from European President down to key account manager. We also publish a series of annual directories of business information, such as the International Directory of Retail Toy Buyers, which lists the names of the key buyers in 42 countries. Contact Andrew Dobbie or Margit Pendl tel: +44 1442 870100
andrew@gameplaneurope.com or
margit@gameplaneurope.com www.gameplaneurope.com
44 Februaryxx February
www.toynews-online.biz www.toynews-online.biz
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