LA-based ZAG has recruited Target veteran Gaye Dean to serve as its VP of retail development in North America, where she will work to improve in-store visibility for the company’s franchises.

Dean will manage all strategic retail relationships in the region and support the company’s CP programs with product placements and promotions. Based in Minneapolis, she starts on January 30 and will report to Lisa Foster, ZAG’s SVP of licensing in North America. 

Dean’s initial focus will be to work with mass-market, specialty and online retailers on the spring launch of new licensed Miraculous products from ZAG Play’s toy division and 100-plus licensing partners. 

Encompassing many product categories, the rollout will continue into 2024. Highlights include a new line of transforming dolls from LA-based master toy partner Playmates; apparel from clothing manufacturers Bentex and Isaac Morris; home decor goods from textiles company Jay Franco; and publishing programs from Bendon and Crayola. 

Dean is coming off a three-year stint as VP of retail development at LA-based pocket.watch, where she oversaw business development and US partnerships for all of the company’s brands, including Ryan’s World and Love, Diana. Prior to that, she worked for 15 years as the marketing director of Target, where she negotiated more than 150 multi-category licensing programs for adults and kids, and headed up the retailer’s all-important seasonal marketing campaigns, according to a release.