Industry Moves The Lego Group appoints new head of marketing The Lego Group has announced that Isabel Graham will be joining the UK & Ireland division as head of marketing. Starting in October, Isabel will be responsible for Lego UK & Ireland’s marketing strategy and execution. She brings to the role a wealth of experience from across The Lego Group, having worked for the company for almost 10 years, including for The Lego Agency, Product Group Marketing and the Americas Brand Marketing Team. Most recently, Isabel held the role of head of marketing for the Nordics division. Isabel will be replacing Marius Lang, who moved into the role of general manager for Benelux at The Lego Group on 1st August. Marius said: “I have very much enjoyed being part of The Lego Group’s UK & Ireland division over the last few years. A big thank you to our customers and many other partners for their trust and collaboration. It’s been a fun ride and I am proud of what we have achieved.” Isabel Graham added: “I am thrilled to be taking on this role, and I look forward to bringing my experience and passion for the Lego brand to the UK & Ireland business. It’s such an exciting time to be joining the team and I can’t wait to see what we are able to achieve together.”
Funko expands EMEA sales team with appointment of Karen Athill Joining from MGA Entertainment, where she served as sales director for over three years, Karen Athill will lead the regional sales teams as Funko continues its European expansion, as regional director of sales. At MGA, Karen helped to spearhead the strong growth of the UK region via a hugely successful sales strategy for brands including L.O.L. Surprise!, Rainbow High, Little Tikes, Baby born and Baby Annabel. Prior to this role, Karen headed up UK sales at Rubies, where she delivered multi-channel strategies across its comprehensive portfolio of products in both hardlines and softlines. Speaking of her new position, Karen said: “I’m delighted to be joining the Funko family. Its huge range of licence partnerships offers unlimited opportunities and I’m thrilled to be working on such a diverse product range spanning multiple categories. Additionally, the ongoing portfolio expansion, with brands such as Loungefly, make this an exciting time to be a part of the business. It’s great to be back in a cross-category environment; I cannot wait to be working with the Funko team and look forward to supporting our EMEA retailer partners as they move towards further growth.” Malcolm Ottley, vice president of sales at Funko (EMEA), added: “We are delighted to have been able to secure someone with Karen’s proven experience to help strengthen our retailer relationships throughout the UK, France and Iberia regions. Karen will lead our sales teams in those regions, further enhancing our strategic partner relations and continuing to drive our category expansions across our Pop! collectibles, toys, games and softlines through our thriving Loungefly business.”
Guy Rooney joins Zapf Creation as sales director MGA UK & Ireland has announced the appointment of Guy Rooney to the role of Zapf Creation sales director. Reporting to UK managing director Neil Bandtock, the newly created position will allow Guy to oversee the portfolio of Zapf’s award-winning brands, including Baby Annabell, Baby born and Baby born surprise. Joining the team following four years with Character Group, Guy will take up the position at the end of September. He joins with a wealth of experience in the toy and retail industry, including senior sales roles with IMC Toys and retail management positions with Argos and Homebase. Neil Bandtock, MD of MGA UK and Ireland, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Guy to the team. Zapf is home to a number of evergreen and hugely successful brands and the addition of Guy as sales director will elevate this success to the next level. Our UK and Ireland retailers will really benefit from this increased focus.” Guy Rooney commented: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Zapf team and can’t wait to get started. I’m looking forward to having the opportunity of supporting our customers and increasing the sales of these well-loved brands.”
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