NEWS

Appointments and restructure bolster Rubies’ EMEA team

Published on: 28th March 2022

Rubies has announced yet more additions to its ranks, which it says will bolster the company’s expertise within the toy and dress-up industry.

Georges Ghougassian, Aurélie Dilain-Waclawski and Caroline Masson.

Following a change of role for Georges Ghougassian, who is now director of Licensing & Brands, Rubies has appointed Caroline Masson to lead the EMEA Brand & Marketing initiative. Caroline has spent the last five years at IMC France as senior marketing manager and was previously senior marketing manager at Rubies France, having gained experience in sales and marketing at the European level. Rubies says Caroline will bring a ‘unique combination of a wealth of experience and fresh new ideas’ to the team, where she’s set to become the driving force behind the company’s brand and marketing efforts.

Georges has been with Rubies for 15 years and possesses a wealth of knowledge regarding the company and the wider industry. Prior to taking up the role of director of Licensing & Brands Georges was country manager at Rubies France, where he was responsible for the national relaunch of the brand in 2008 and for establishing the company strategy for managing sales, marketing and finance. Before joining Rubies, he was also Mattel France’s head of Sales, overseeing import and export for seven years, and in 2006 became the country manager and founder of IMC Toys’ French subsidiary, enjoying a successful 15-year period in the role. Georges will play an important role in senior management, delivering a dynamic and uniformed 365 plan for Rubies B2B business strategy across EMEA as well as expanding the DTC operational network that supports all channels.

Aurélie Dilain-Waclawski has also joined the company as licensing manager EMEA at Rubies, working with the licensing team to spearhead a total licensing focus. With experience in drafting and reviewing contracts within the UK and overseas as well as expanding customer bases, Aurélie’s ability to adapt to current and prospective market trends maker her a perfect fit for the Rubies team. Aurélie’s extensive career in the licensing industry has seen her work as brand licensing manager for Hornby Hobbies for over four years, and more recently as commercial manager for The Point.1888.

Aurélie, Georges and Caroline will all be working directly with Mike O’Connell, managing director, as well as the wider pan-European teams at Rubies.

Mike, who leads the EMEA group and has been widely hailed as the driving force behind the costume giant’s renewed success, commented: “As the company prepares for the expansion needed to support its growth following successful remodelling, we’re constantly reviewing our internal structure to ensure we can pivot and cater to the demands of the market. Georges’ experience is unquestionable, and the appointment of Caroline, who will focus on brand and marketing, has everybody excited. Likewise with Aurielle: she too brings a wealth of experience and shares the passion and drive that is at the heart of everything we are doing.”

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