Magna-Tiles is expanding its global footprint with a new key appointment.
The magnetic building sets brand has brought on toy industry veteran Christian Petersen to oversee the opening of the first Magna-Tiles office in Europe later this year.
“Christian comes to Magna-Tiles with an impressive background in international business, specifically in the toy industry,” says Michael Valenta, President of Magna-Tiles. “If there’s one thing that is universally relevant, it’s play. And with Christian’s leadership, we’re excited to meet the growing demand for Magna-Tiles products across the globe.”
Before joining Magna-Tiles, Petersen held leadership roles in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. He played a pivotal part in leading the growth of businesses in these markets. During his nearly decade-long tenure with LEGO, Petersen was the Managing Director of LEGO Brazil where he oversaw sales channels, marketing, operations, and finance. He also oversaw the expansion of LEGO brand stores in the country.
In addition, Petersen boasts expertise in the educational toy arena, which is especially important for Magna-Tiles. The brand was born in the classroom and continues to work with educators and child development thought leaders. Petersen led the start-up of LEGO Education activities for Latin America and managed a distributor network from Mexico to Argentina. In that role, he also represented LEGO Education in government discussions and negotiations across Latin America.
