Last night, Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment (WIT) pulled back the curtain on the 2020 Wonder Women Award Winners at the sold-out 16th Annual WIT Wonder Women Awards. The vibrant celebration dinner honors the best and brightest women that are making waves across the toys, licensing, and entertainment industries.
“It was an absolutely extraordinary evening, with more than 850 guests joining us to celebrate brilliant women making an impact on our industry,” says Genna Rosenberg from GennComm and Jennifer Caveza, from ViacomCBS, Wonder Women Awards co-chairs. “The 2020 finalists, winners, and honorees all reflect excellence and we can’t wait to continue to watch them shine.”
Hasbro Chairman and CEO Brian Goldner presented outgoing WIT President Ashley Mady with WIT’s President Award for her more than six years of service. Under Mady’s leadership, WIT has grown to a global organization with an infrastructure, hundreds of events and a growth strategy for the future. WIT also announced yesterday that Janice Ross will lead WIT as its new president beginning in next month.
Mattel President and Chief Operating Officer Richard Dickson presented the Mentor of the Year Award to Pam Lifford, president of Warner Bros. Global Brands and Experiences.
ViacomCBS President Pam Kaufman, who was honored with last year’s Mentorship Award, presented WWE Chief Brand Officer, Stephanie McMahon with WIT’s Changemaker Award.
2020 Wonder Women Award Winners
CREATOR / DESIGNER / INVENTOR
- Angie Cella – GemC2, Creator of Blinger
LICENSOR / ENTERTAINMENT
- Glenda Beltran – ViacomCBS
LICENSEE / MANUFACTURER
- Anna Mowbray – ZURU, Inc.
MARKETING / PR
- Krista Berger – Mattel
RISING STAR CORPORATE
- Elaine Chang – The Walt Disney Company/Disney Parks, Experiences and Products
- Maddie Michalik – The Toy Book
RISING STAR INDEPENDENT
- Jill Walters – Crazy Aaron’s Puttyworld
- Madison Robinson – FishFlops
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
- Nancy Molenda – Mattel
WIT also presented $2,500 scholarships to 11 deserving students who’ve demonstrated academic excellence and leadership in business, design, engineering and entrepreneurial studies, and with the support of WIT’s generous sponsors. Many of the recipients were in attendance thanks to the generosity of the Bandai Foundation, which underwrote a special Excursionista travel stipend.
WIT thanks its generous 2020 sponsors and in-kind donors, including Hasbro, Mattel, ViacomCBS, Disney, The Bandai Foundation, Jazwares, Amazon, LEGO, PlayMonster, Spin Master, VTech, and the many sponsors who support the organization year-round and help contribute to the success of the Wonder Women Awards. Proceeds from this event are used to fund scholarships, develop and maintain a full calendar of programs and networking events, and support initiatives for WIT’s members and its community.
The Toy Book is a supporting sponsor of WIT.
