Reminder: Toy Association Annual General Meeting on March 10

March 2, 2021 | The Toy Association is reminding members to register for its upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM), which will be conducted virtually via Zoom on Wednesday, March 10 at 2 p.m. (Eastern).

Open to all Toy Association member companies, the meeting will include comments on the state of the Association from representatives of The Toy Association’s Executive Committee before opening the floor to questions. Following a vote on new Board Members, the 2021-2023 Executive Committee and appointees to the Chairperson’s Board Advisory Committee will also be named.

As previously announced, to help promote a more diverse board, this marks the first year that the Association’s Board of Directors Nominating Committee opened up Board nominations to candidates beyond the C-Suite. Current nominees up for member approval to serve two-year terms beginning in March 2021 include: Kathrin Belliveau, chief purpose officer at Hasbro; Erica Buxton, chief operating officer at Razor USA; Ashley Mady, head of brand development at Basic Fun!; and Dion Vlachos, executive vice president, hardlines & retail at ViacomCBS Consumer Products.

Three existing board members have also been advanced for election by membership to serve for one additional two-year term: Aaron Muderick, founder and executive chairman of Crazy Aaron’s Puttyworld; Michael Rinzler, co-president of Wicked Cool Toys & EVP/partner at Jazwares LLC; and, Steve Totzke, executive vice president & chief commercial officer at Mattel. Association board members are elected for two-year terms and may be nominated for re-election twice before being required to depart the board.

Two amendments to the bylaws of The Toy Association will be proposed to membership for a vote of approval during the AGM. The first seeks to increase the size of the board of directors = to 13 to 21 regular members (from 13 to 17 regular members). The second seeks to increase the size of the chairperson’s advisory council to six additional members-at-large (from four additional members-at-large). A vote on each amendment will be made separately.

Preregistration is required. Members are encouraged to email committees@toyassociation.org to RSVP for the AGM and will receive a link to access the meeting on or about March 8.