Meet the Committee

Bob Wann, Committee Chair
CEO, Patch Products Inc.

Bob Wann is the CEO of Patch Products Inc, makers of Patch, Lauri and Smethport Branded toys, games and educational products.

Wann has over 30 years experience at both Fortune 500 and Entrepreneurial/Start-up companies in U.S and International markets. Through strategic brand and product development combined with creative marketing, he has overseen the development and growth of some of the most recognized brands in Toys and Consumer Packaged Goods, including M&M’s, Johnson & Johnson, Fisher Price and Playskool.

Wann developed his brand building skills and marketing skills at M & M Mars, Johnson & Johnson and American Greetings and later applied these skills as VP of Marketing at Fisher Price, Executive Vice President of Playskool and President/Worldwide General Manager of Milton Bradley/Parker Bros at Hasbro, overseeing the successful introduction or growth of industry recognized brands such as Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Mr. Potato Head, Monopoly, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary, Fisher Price, Playskool, Nerf.

Wann is widely recognized as a creative thinker and marketer, developing award-winning programs such as "Family Game Night” and “Get Together Games.” He is also a member of The Toy Industry Association’s Board of Directors.

He has been married to his wife Amy, for 18 years, and resides in Lake Geneva, WI with their 14-year-old daughter Melanie.

Shirley Price, Committee Vice-Chair
President / Chief Operating Officer, Funrise

Shirley Price has been involved in the Toy Industry for over two decades. She started her career at Funrise in 1987, the same year the company was founded.  Funrise is an adventurous innovator of superior toys and an industry leader in the manufacturing and distribution of the most popular toys for children of all ages. Shirley has held several senior management positions at Funrise and is currently serving as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Shirley is responsible for strategic planning and business development, including strategic partnerships with other major toy companies such as Hasbro and Disney. 

Aside from managing the operations for a company that goes through the entire creative process of designing and manufacturing toys, Shirley has also been very involved in charitable causes. For 10 years, she organized Funrise’s “Toy Run For Kids,” an annual toy drive that brought the largest single donation of toys to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. Shirley is also a member of the Toy Bank Committee and was the founding co-chair of the committee when it was originally created in 2004.  Shirley was elected to the Board of Directors for the Toy Industry Association in February of 2010.

Lourdes Arocho, VP of Toys and Games, Nickelodeon Consumer Products

Lourdes Arocho is Vice President of Toys and Games for Nickelodeon Consumer Products (NCP) which handles the merchandising for Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon.

As Vice President of Toys and Games, Arocho leads and oversees the toy team on the extension of Nickelodeon’s evergreen properties, Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants, and current hits iCarly, Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures’ The Last Airbender, and Nickelodeon’s most recent acquisition, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In addition, she directs the product launches of the network’s newest hits, Team UmiZoomi and Victorious, and manages relationships with industry leaders including: Fisher Price, Playmates, Hasbro and Spin Master.

Arocho joined Nickelodeon in 2007 as Director of Toys & Games for NCP. She grew the SpongeBob SquarePants brand in the Toy and Consumer Electronics category to its highest levels in 2009 with successful licensing agreements with companies like Jakks Pacific and Hasbro. She spearheaded the master partnerships with Spin Master and Playmates Toys for Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures’ feature film, The Last Airbender, and the network’s hit live-action TV series, iCarly. Arocho, spearheaded the development and launch of NCP’s first-ever Nickelodeon Netbook in partnership with Dell.

Prior to joining Nickelodeon, Arocho was Director of International Licensing & Merchandising for New Line Cinema where she was responsible for the development of merchandising strategies for New Line’s new releases and film franchises.   Arocho secured New Line’s first multi-venue House of Horrors Exhibit and direct to retail program with Madame Tussauds. Arocho also served as Manager of Product Development at Scholastic Entertainment's Consumer Products Division where she contributed to several key initiatives including Scholastic Brand Toy program, which garnered a LIMA Award in 2002. 

Arocho began her career in Licensing as Coordinator with DC Comics’ Licensing & Merchandising Team. She graduated with a B.A. in Communications from Fordham University in New York and lives in New Jersey with her husband and two sons.

Joel Berger, President, Cardinal Industries, Inc.

Joel Berger received his College degree in Business Administration from Boston University and joined his father’s game manufacturing business, Cardinal Industries, Inc. and has spent 35 years in the industry. This year Cardinal Industries is celebrating its 65th year in business.
 
His knowledge of the industry includes, Product Development, Production, and Sales.
 
Over the years, he has received numerous Vendor of the Year Awards from most of the major retailers.  Cardinal Industries has been recognized for its creativity and reliability.

Joel resides in New York and has 2 children one of whom may follow his family legacy in the game business.

Mary Couzin, Founder and President, Chicago Toy and Game Group

Mary Couzin is President and Founder of Chicago Toy and Game Group, the entity producing the Chicago Toy and Game Fair, the Toy and Game Inventor of the Year Awards, the Toy and Game Inventor/industry Conference, the Games in Education Conference, and other sub-events to these events. In addition, after self-producing and licensing a few board games, she founded and runs DiscoverGames.com, the world's largest co-op of board game inventors, and is partnered with Live Oak Games on the Games in Education website and newsletter. She serves on TIA's Associate Membership and PlayCon/ToyCon Committees , is a Selection Committee Member at National Toy Hall of Fame, writes a weekly blog for Global Toy News, and is active in social media promoting the importance of play and toy/game inventors.

Mary received a BBA from the University of Notre Dame and a MBA from Loyola University. She is active in local politics having served on City Council, Park Board, Sculpture Committee, Zoning Board and Plan Commission. She is a past United Way Board Member.

Richard Gill, Former Co-Owner and Developer, Pictionary® Brand
 

Richard is the former co-owner and developer of the Pictionary® brand. Born in the United Kingdom but having lived primarily in the US since 1985 he was responsible for overseeing the phenomenal successes’ of both Trivial Pursuit® and Pictionary for 15 years before the successful sale of the Pictionary company to Mattel Inc. in 2001. 

As Executive VP of Horn Abbot International based in Barbados, Richard oversaw the development of Trivial Pursuit into a $100 million international brand in 35 countries providing development/writing and marketing expertise to licensees in the various territories during the 1980’s. As one of the owners of the Pictionary brand he built an international network for the board game into over 60 markets and 35 languages with annual sales of over $30 million while successfully extending the brand into a syndicated TV show, publishing, computer versions, the gaming industry, party goods and confectionary businesses.

In addition to his media and PR appearances, Richard now provides International Management, Sales and Marketing consultancy services to multiple toy and game clients via his company NH Contract Management. With products currently placed in over 40 markets worldwide Richard provides an instant international development function to his clients looking for international partners, licensees or distributors.

Richard Gottlieb, Global Toy Experts

Richard Gottlieb is a well known toy industry commentator and President of Richard Gottlieb’s USA Toy Experts, a toy industry consultancy. Richard combines an MBA in Global Management with years of toy industry experience to help small, medium, and large toy manufacturers increase their market share.

Richard is frequently interviewed by media worldwide, and has been called on by CNN, PBS, ABC and other media outlets. He is the publisher of Global Toy News as well as a Contributing Editor to Playthings magazine in the US, Toys n’ Playthings in the UK, Juguetes in Spain and other European toy magazines.  Considered an expert on the toy industry, Richard is frequently asked to speak at toy industry conferences. 

Richard has written a book, Ambassador to the Kingdom of Wal-Mart and his blog, “Out of the Toy Box” is a popular destination for those who want to know what is happening and is going to happen in the toy industry.  In addition, Richard produces a monthly bulletin called “What’s Next” which focuses on coming trends.

Richard is the “Ambassador” to the United States for the Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany.  In recognition of his prominence in the toy industry, Richard is member of the National Toy Hall of Fame voting committee.

Sharon Hartley, former Executive Vice President Marketing and Product Innovation, Crayola LLC

Sharon is an experienced and accomplished senior industry executive with over thirty years of brand-building success at companies such as Mattel, Hasbro, Toys R Us and Crayola.  She also established an independent business consultancy providing youth marketing strategy to clients including the New York Jets, The Beacon Street Girls of B*tween Productions, and ITEM New Product Development (now Ximedica).  Sharon’s goal as a Play Con Planning Committee member is to enrich industry learning through shared insights and the tools, approaches and cases studies used by our industry’s leaders to turn these insights into successful new product innovation and marketing strategies.

Manuel Torres, SVP, Global Toys, Nickelodeon Consumer Products

Manuel Torres is Senior Vice President, Global Toys, Interactive and Consumer Products Electronics, for Nickelodeon Consumer Products (NCP), which manages the leading TV-led licensing business in the world and handles the merchandising for Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon.
 
Based in New York City, Torres oversees the global business operations and licensing partnerships for Nickelodeon’s toy, interactive and consumer electronic lines.  Torres’ team aligns NCP’s activities across these channels to drive new business initiatives, leverage MTV Network’s global portfolio, and create innovative and safe product offerings to appeal to global clients’ expanding interests with a local relevance. 

Previously, Torres was Senior Vice President, NCP and MTVN Latin America, where he was responsible for directing licensing and merchandising activities for all programming properties and brands.  Torres established NVCP’s Latin American division when he joined the company in 2004. His team of licensing professionals have firmly entrenched Nickelodeon’s hit franchises SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer and Go! Diego! Go! throughout the region.  Under Torres’ leadership, Backyardigans and Dora the Explorer became Fisher-Price’s fastest-growing preschool properties ever in Latin America and SpongeBob SquarePants has garnered significant sustained growth reflecting the consistent performance the property is delivering year on year.

Torres previously served as General Manager of Warner Bros. Consumer Products in Mexico, where he managed its operations and oversaw the development and implementation of strategies to expand core brands, licensing sales, retail marketing and promotions.  A native of Mexico with more than 20 years of experience in the Toy and Consumer Products Industries, Torres has also held sales and marketing and sales positions at Unilever Mexico and Mattel, Inc. in El Segundo, California.