Rich Wuerthele Joins Crayola as President & CEO

Crayola appointed Rich Wuerthele as its new president and CEO.

Wuerthele joins the company from Newell Brands, where he most recently served as CEO of its home fragrance portfolio, including the Yankee Candle brand and its 450 company-owned retail stores.

“Throughout his career, Rich has been a strong builder of teams that develop high-performance cultures,” says Mike Perry, president and CEO of Hallmark, Crayola‘s parent company. “His experiences in product innovation, commercializing a wide range of products, and building brands run deep. He is an insightful and thoughtful leader with a thirst for creativity and innovation.”

“I am honored to join a company with such a rich history and look forward to advancing Crayola’s mission to bring color and creativity to children around the world,” Wuerthele says.

Based in Easton, Pennsylvania, Crayola is a worldwide leader in kid’s creative expression products. The company is best known for its iconic Crayola Crayon, which was first introduced in 1903.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.