New chief looking beyond toys for Hasbro's future
PAWTUCKET, R.I. - Hasbro Inc.'s new chief executive is running more than a toy company.
With a treasure trove of well-known brands such as Monopoly, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Littlest Pet Shop, and Playskool, Brian Goldner said it's essential the world's second-largest toy maker think beyond its traditional business and across all platforms.
"What does that look like as an online game? Can that be a cellphone game? Should that be a TV show? Can that be a movie?" he said. "That's the way we're thinking about our brands today and our strategy for the company."
Goldner, 45, Hasbro's chief operating officer since 2006, takes over today at the Pawtucket-based company. He has been praised for helping retiring chief executive Alfred Verrecchia lead a turnaround. He joined the toy maker in 2000 as chief operating officer of its Tiger Electronics division, and within 90 days was named head of US Toys. The company cut hundreds of jobs that year and reported a $144.6 million loss.
After a few years of what Goldner calls "fix-it" mode, he and the rest of the management team turned their attention to reviving brands as well as its preschool and girls' business and putting a renewed focus on product innovation.
Revenue has grown from $3.14 billion in 2003 to $3.84 billion in 2007.
Sean McGowan, a toy analyst at Needham and Co., said it was apparent early on that Goldner was being groomed as a future chief executive. He wondered whether that was wise because Goldner was an outsider and Hasbro is steeped in tradition with executives who have been there for decades.
He said it's now clear Goldner has become a great leader.
A onetime ad man at agencies Leo Burnett and J. Walter Thompson, Goldner worked on new product introductions such as Pert Plus shampoo and Lunchables and for clients including movie studio 20th Century Fox before becoming chief operating officer of toy maker Bandai America Inc. in 1997.
He left Bandai in 2000 for Hasbro, but says all those experiences have given him an appreciation for new product development. Goldner has made working with Hollywood a key part of his vision. The first test was last year's "Transformers" movie, based on the Hasbro toy line, which has taken in more than $700 million worldwide and has a sequel scheduled for next summer.
