Spin Master welcomes back Rich Mazel and promotes Dougal Grimes and Harrie Sivanander as part of Inventor Relations shake-up

Spin Master has detailed a shake-up of its Inventor Relations team, welcoming Rich Mazel back to the company after a 7 ½ year spell at Hasbro, and promoting Dougal Grimes and Harrie Sivanander to new roles.

Rich Mazel is taking on the role of VP of Innovation and Inventor Relations, focusing on all toys categories within Boys, Girls and Pre-school.

Elsewhere, Dougal Grimes has been promoted to VP of Innovation and Inventor Relations for games, plush, outdoor and activities and Inventor Relations Director Harrie Sivanander is also being promoted to a new role.

“We are so happy to have Rich back at Spin Master, and for Dougal Grimes and Harrie Sivanander to take on these incredible new roles,” said Ben Dermer, SVP of Creative Development at Spin Master.

“These are big moves for us. We’re doubling down on innovation, Inventor Relations and new product development, and investing heavily in a future full of new projects and great new toys. As always, working with the inventor community and engaging in the hunt for the best new ideas is a top priority for us. And we’ve got the creative and technical talent at Spin Master to bring those ideas to life.”

Rich Mazel added: “I am super excited to return to Spin Master – where I started my toy career a decade ago – as VP of Innovation and Inventor Relations, focused specifically on all categories of toys within the Boys, Girls, and Preschool GBUs, including Hatchimals, Paw Patrol, Bakugan, Air Hogs, Zoomer and many others, as well as on new technologies.

“It truly feels like Spin has assembled a “Dream Team” of play and innovation and I am happy and proud to be a part of that”

Dougal Grimes said: “Spin Master since its inception has been one of the most entrepreneurial and innovative toy companies in the industry’s history. This is no more apparent than the newly formed NYC hub where all of games, plush and outdoor businesses are located.

“These three areas, which encapsulate a mix of strategic acquisitions and exciting new brands, are pushing the boundaries of product Innovation and storytelling. Combined with the huge momentum of our activities team in our Toronto office with brands such as Kinetic Sand and Cool Maker, we are working with more inventors globally and on a deeper level.

“It’s an insanely exciting time at the company, not only in our innovation and Inventor Relations Team – welcome home Rich! – but across the entire company globally.”

—-

To stay in the loop with the latest news, interviews and features from the world of toy and game design, sign up to our weekly newsletter here

More Recent News

Our top 10 most read interviews of 2024

This year’s top 10 features interviews with Exploding Kittens’ Matthew Inman, Hasbro’s Angus Walker and Jazwares’ Magdalena Eichhorn.

AMIGO to meet game inventors at Mojo Pitch 2025

“We are thrilled to be back at the Play Creators Festival in 2025,” said AMIGO’s Alessandro Montingelli.

Think Influence eyes toy partners for Fisch

The popular Roblox game launched earlier this year and has over 800,000 concurrent users.

Transformers Age of the Primes figures land on Hasbro Pulse

The Transformers Age of the Primes Titan Class Thirteen Star Optimus Prime figure comes with a cannon blaster, shoulder blasters, and the Zodiac orb.

People of Play welcomes Shannon Swindle as Director

“I look forward to creating meaningful experiences, celebrating the work of toy and game designers and continuing to support the incredible people in this industry that I love so much,” said Swindle.

Rubies readies UK launch for Bluey costumes

“We are confident that Rubies’ new Bluey dress-up options will be popular with families on this side of the world, after the positive reception they received in Australia,” said Anita Majhu, Head of Licensing (Softlines) at BBC Studios.