In this role, Jon Spalding will lead the UK Consumer Products team and take Regional Leadership for the Hardlines category across EMEA.

Mattel has announced the appointment of Jon Spalding as head of UK Consumer Products & Hardlines EMEA.

Jon joins Mattel from the Brand Development & Consumer Products team within NBCUniversal where he has most recently been working as director – Hardlines, Publishing & Food for the UK/IRE, as well as holding a Regional EMEA role for the Hardlines category.

Ruth Henriquez, head of Consumer Products EMEA, said: “We are delighted to appoint Jon to this role, with his wealth of experience in the UK and European market. We are looking forward to him leading the team to accelerate the growth of the Mattel brands through engaging Consumer Products programmes.”

In its most recent financial reporting, Mattel EMEA was the fastest growing region for the corporation. For the quarter, Gross Billings increased 18% with POS up mid-single digits, and for the full year, Gross Billings gained 20% with POS up low double digits. On NPD rankings, Mattel EMEA was the fastest growing manufacturer among the Top 5 for 2021 in E7 and Mattel EMEA became an even stronger No.2 in Europe (E7).