Major shifts at the global children’s entertainment company, Spin Master, have seen the appointment of Max Rangel to the role of global president effective January 2021 and CEO, a role he will take on from April 2021.
The company has also revealed the establishment of three creative centres comprising Toys, Entertainment and Digital Games.
Rangel’s appointment has been made as Spin Master’s co-founders and current co-CEOs, Ronnen Harary and Anton Rabie prepare to transition out of their positions to take up their leadership roles on the Board. Harary will continue to guide the growth of the digital games and creative centre, while Rabie will continue to provide input on Spin Master’s global culture.
Both Harary and Rabie will remain involved in business development and all mergers and acquisition activity at the company.
Rangel is a seasoned executive who brings extensive experience in leading consumer-focused and high performing teams, developing innovative marketing and brand management programs and managing complex operations. Most recently, he held progressive positions with SC Johnson & Sons serving as SVP, president of lifestyle brands in international markets and SVP, president, Asia Pacific, Africa, Middle East and Russia regions.
Prior to this, Rangel spent 22 years at Procter and Gamble and over three years at The Hershey Company.
Spin Master also detailed its plan for executive leadership development. The company has established three creative centres comprising Toys, Entertainment and Digital Games.
Chris Beardall, a toy-industry veteran with over 20 years at Spin Master, who is currently executive vice president of global sales, will be appointed president, Spin Master Toys, overseeing the toy creative centre. Beardall will champion profitable growth across the entire toy portfolio.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Dodge, an entertainment-industry veteran, who has been with Spin Master for 12 years and who is currently executive vice president, Entertainment, will be appointed president, Spin Master Entertainment. Dodge will oversee all aspects of the company’s entertainment creative centre from franchise growth through to content development, production and distribution globally.
Fredrik Loving, a digital games industry expert who previously held leadership positions at Electronic Arts and other leading digital games companies and who recently joined Spin Master as executive vice president, Digital Studios, will be appointed president, Spin Master Digital Games. In this new role based in Sweden, Loving will oversee Spin Master’s digital games creative centre from managing game development at Toca Boca’s and Sago Mini’s Stockholm and Toronto studios, through to sales and platform growth.
“Since founding Spin Master together more than 26 years ago, we’ve grown from a single, item-driven business to a leading global children’s entertainment company with three thriving creative centres in toys, entertainment and digital games,” said Harary.
“With a well-defined long-term vision and a strong executive management team in place, we believe the time is right to transition Spin Master beyond its founders on a day to day operating level. This natural transition will allow Anton and I to emphasize our strategic roles where we can focus our efforts on shepherding Spin Master’s course for the future.”
Spin Master’s third co-founder Ben Varadi will continue in his role as chief creative officer supporting all three creative centres and will remain on Spin Master’s Board.
“As we take the next step in the evolution of Spin Master, we’ve assembled an exceptional global team poised to deliver on our long-term vision,” said Rabie.
“Max is an extraordinary business leader with a tremendous track record of leading global teams and harnessing the full potential of individuals to achieve outstanding results. Collectively, we will continue to nurture a culture where innovation drives growth and where we continue to deliver the most imaginative experiences for kids and families around the world.”
