Justin will oversee EMEA licensing responsibility across all categories, while leading and managing the Licensing team within Rubies.

Justin McGiffin

Rubies Masquerade has announced the appointment of Justin McGiffin, who will join the company as head of Licensing to manage and develop its impressive portfolio.

Justin brings to his new role a wealth of experience, having held previous positions at The Walt Disney Company and Jakks Pacific. Most recently, Justin was licensing director Sales at Rovio Entertainment, which Rubies says makes him ‘an ideal fit for the role’. A seasoned professional with extensive experience across global markets, Justin will fit into his role as head of Licensing with his expertise in initiating, negotiating and executing consumer product contracts for some of the largest brands and properties in the world.

He has also been responsible for delivering successful distribution platforms for sales across multiple regions and building collaborative sales partnerships to deliver broad distribution at retail.

Mike O’Connell, managing director at Rubies Masquerade, said: “It’s exciting to see Rubies grow, as we acquire new licences whilst building and expanding upon existing ones. To do this, we needed a head of Licensing who is inspiring, ambitious and has experience within the industry. Justin is the perfect choice, with his back-catalogue of senior roles at some of the most prestigious global brands in the toy and entertainment world, as well as his motivation and brand development skills.”

Justin’s appointment follows that of Jose Cano, who was announced as Rubies’ new head of Operations in October. Prior to this, Rubies strengthened its sales team with three new hires. Peter Silver joined the costume company as the new head of Sales, moving from Mattel, Robin Dent joined as national account controller, and Claire Barkwith joined as new national account manager for Fashion and Apparel.