Toy innovation company, Wow! Stuff is delighted to announce the promotion of Dawn Lavalette to managing director.

Formerly Head of Toys at Tesco PLC, Dawn joined Wow! Stuff as commercial director in 2019, responsible for leading the company’s sales strategy and teams globally. Four years on, Dawn will take the helm as managing director with her new position coinciding with the company’s launch of new products at Spielwarenmesse, Nuremberg.

Dawn commented: “The feeling of being totally vested and aligned with the board of directors was essential in any move I made, and now the chance to run the company is a real honour. In four years, we have made so many great changes and investments, with a personal highlight being our Harry Potter Invisibility Cloak winning a Toy of the Year award.”

“I remember the day I joined, seeing the huge potential of Wow! Stuff’s incredible ‘innovation engine’, the excitement of the team but also how I could take us to the next level. You know when you are at the right company when the team shares the same values and gets excited by producing products that are so very special – and yes, to coin a pun, are just Wow!,” she added. “As we get set to launch a raft of new innovations, from our new Nano Pods at entry price points to the Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary year edition Real FX Baby T.Rex, I’m thrilled to be leading the company as MD.”

Current CEO and co-founder Richard North will move to the position of president and, alongside the company’s chairman, Simon Gardner, formerly CMO Hasbro, will focus on partnership deals, mergers and acquisitions.

Richard added: “I am extremely proud to call Dawn our partner in Wow! Stuff. The business has professionalised under Dawn’s commercial leadership but most of all we are having tremendous fun building and launching blockbuster hero products, master toy ranges and innovative collectables in the finest licensed brands.”

Dawn’s history in toys started at Sainsburys where she held senior roles in merchandising before rising to become the senior Toy buyer. From there, Dawn joined Tesco as head buyer for Toys and Nursery, UK and central Europe.

TOYWORLD 24th January 2023