Schleich Appoints Two Top Execs to Lead U.S. Operations

Schleich named two top-tier executives to lead the company’s U.S.-based operations. Schleich promoted David Albert to chief operating officer and appointed Annie Laurie Zomermaand as chief commercial officer. The duo also serve as managing directors of Schleich USA.

“We are very excited to welcome David and Annie Laurie, both experts in their respective fields, to our U.S. Schleich team,” says Schleich Group CEO Dirk Engehausen.

Albert is overseeing the company’s operational areas, including logistics, demand and supply planning, customer service, finance, global analytics, and IT. Zomermaand is leading Schleich’s sales, marketing, and human resources teams. She will also help shape the company’s overall business strategy.

Albert joins Schleich USA from the company’s headquarters in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany, where he was most recently director of strategic business development for Schleich GmbH.

Zomermaand previously served as director of consumer sales at Learning Resources, and held positions at LeapFrog, and The LEGO Group.

Schleich is currently rolling out flagship branded toy departments with select retailers nationwide.

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.