Spin Master Announces Senior Leadership Changes

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Feb 18, 2020, 08:00 ET

New Leadership to Bring Renewed Commitment to Operational Excellence

TORONTO, Feb. 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Spin Master Corp. [TSX: TOY; www.spinmaster.com] "Spin Master" or "the Company", today announced a series of senior leadership changes designed to optimize Spin Master for growth with a renewed commitment to operational excellence as it continues to execute against its long-term strategy.

By mutual agreement, effective immediately, Ben Gadbois Global President, Chief Operating Officer and Board Director and Bill Hess, Executive Vice President, Global Operations and Chief Information Officer are leaving Spin Master. During their tenure, both Gadbois and Hess played instrumental roles in establishing Spin Master as a diversified global business.

In conjunction with these changes, Paul Blom has been appointed as the interim Executive Vice President, Global Operations and Technology. Blom will be responsible for leading the Company's operations and IT teams, across Asia, Canada, the United States, Europe and Mexico. Blom is a veteran executive with global expansion experience who has held senior roles in all areas of operations at IBM, SMTC, CFM and Celestica.

Spin Master also announced that Tara Deakin, SVP Talent Management, will become Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Chief People Officer of Spin Master. Prior to joining Spin Master in June 2019, Tara held progressively senior roles at Rogers Communications, Citigroup and TD Bank in Canada and the US.

Ronnen Harary, Spin Master's Co-Founder & Co-Chief Executive Officer said: "We would like to thank both Ben and Bill for their significant contributions to Spin Master's growth over the past seven years. We welcome Paul Blom to the Spin Master leadership team and congratulate Tara on her appointment. Both Paul and Tara have deep management experience and a proven track record of leadership. Paul is an agile and collaborative leader who brings strong operational expertise. His passion for excellence, paired with his extensive experience working with global teams makes him a strong addition to our leadership team."

Anton Rabie, Co-Founder & Co-Chief Executive Officer added: "Both Ronnen and I want to take this opportunity to thank our employees globally for their continued hard work and dedication. Together, we are reimagining where imagination can take us and harnessing our potential to entertain, create joy and inspire play for kids and their families. We are thrilled to announce Tara's promotion to Chief People Officer. Tara is a transformational leader who will help position us for the next phase of our growth. Her appointment marks a critical moment in Spin Master's evolution and our recognition of the need to raise the bar in leading, managing and developing our key asset - people."

About Spin Master

Spin Master Corp. (TSX:TOY; www.spinmaster.com) is a leading global children's entertainment company that creates, designs, manufactures, licenses and markets a diversified portfolio of innovative toys, games, products and entertainment properties. Spin Master is best known for award-winning brands including Zoomer®, Bakugan®, Erector® by Meccano®, Hatchimals®, Air Hogs® and PAW Patrol®. Since 2000, Spin Master has received 110 TIA Toy of The Year (TOTY) nominations with 30 wins across a variety of product categories, including 13 TOTY nominations for Innovative Toy of the Year. To date, Spin Master Entertainment has produced nine television series, including the relaunched Bakugan: Battle Planet and current hit PAW Patrol, which is broadcast in over 160 countries and territories globally. Spin Master employs over 1,600 people in countries around the world including Canada, United States, Mexico, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Russia, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam and Australia.