Australia’s Moose Toys has added some serious executive talent to its senior leadership team, hiring John Coyne, Craig Drobis, Deirdre Cross and Stephen Davis to fill four new roles that are designed to accelerate the company’s strategic growth in consumer products and licensing partnerships.
Coyne started as chief brand officer earlier this month and is tasked with overseeing the long-term development of Moose’s original toy brands, expanding its licensing portfolio and developing new entertainment-backed franchises. He has more than 25 years of experience in senior marketing roles at companies including Embracer Group, Spin Master, Activision Blizzard and Bandai Namco.
Serving as global GM of licensed & preschool, Drobis will be focused on product development and creating new categories for Moose’s preschool portfolio and existing licenses to expand into. He has worked at Jakks Pacific (SVP of marketing), MGA Entertainment (director of marketing, Little Tikes) and Bandai America (senior director) over the course of a three-decade toy industry career.
Meanwhile, Cross is coming off a five-year stint at Funko, where she headed up the collectible giant’s games division and oversaw the development of more than 500 products. She joined Moose in April and is working on building a new studio in Seattle to create a range of original and branded tabletop titles as SVP of games.
And lastly, Davis will oversee Moose’s entertainment and franchise team in an advisory capacity, as well as spearheading all content initiatives. In his previous role as chief content officer at Hasbro Studios, he oversaw the development of TV shows and films including Transformers: Prime, Littlest Pet Shop, Power Rangers Dino Fury and Jem and the Holograms.
Pictured left to right: John Coyne, Craig Drobis, Deirdre Cross and Stephen Davis