When Tim Kilpin left Activision Blizzard last year, it was said that he planned on heading home to Wisconsin to “retire.”
Well, retirement was short-lived as Kilpin is back in the game as president of Beloit-based PlayMonster LLC. Reporting to Chief PlayMonster Bob Wann, Kilpin will focus on expanding and accelerating PlayMonster’s business with an emphasis on sales, marketing, design, and business development. Wann, in addition to continuing strategic and operational oversight, will increase focus on international growth and acquisitions.
“Tim is one of the most experienced, highly accomplished and respected executives in the whole of the industry,” says Wann. “His tremendous stature and knowledge in the industry, along with his complementary skill sets make Tim the perfect fit, at the perfect time, to further PlayMonster’s growth and evolution towards becoming one of the industry’s top toy companies.”
For more than 35 years, Kilpin has held leadership roles in the toy and family entertainment industries. Prior to his work as President and CEO at Activision Blizzard Consumer Products, Kilpin worked to craft brand strategies and creative direction at Mattel and The Walt Disney Co., for brands including Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Disney Princess, Hot Wheels, Barbie, Monster High, and others.
“The PlayMonster team is an outstanding, experienced, talented group of people with a strong vision, who love what they do and love working together,” says Kilpin. “I really fundamentally believe that finding ways to build brands that offer quality play experiences for families and kids today is more important than ever and I am excited to be part of that.”
Kilpin has also served on the Boards of Build-A-Bear Workshop, the Make-A-Wish International Foundation, and the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation. He currently serves as a Board and Executive Committee member of the Toy Association.
Wann, who recently penned a guest column for the Toy Book, says that PlayMonster is gearing up to aggressively build its portfolio of brands and content-driven IP across multiple categories.
