Women in Toys (WIT) announced the winners of the 16th annual Wonder Women Awards on 23rd February.
Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment (WIT) announced the 2020 Wonder Women Award Winners at the 16th Annual WIT Wonder Women Awards. The global organisation focused on advancing women working in toys, licensing and entertainment, also honoured Pam Lifford, president of Warner Bros. Global Brands and Experiences, who received WIT’s Mentor of the Year Award, and Stephanie McMahon, WWE chief brand officer, who received the WIT Changemaker Award. Mattel CEO Richard Dickson presented the Mentor of the Year Award to Pam, whilst ViacomCBS president Pam Kaufman and last year’s Honoree, presented Stephanie’s award.
The 2020 Wonder Women Award winners are as follows:
- Creator/Designer/Inventor: Angie Cella – GemC2, creator of Blinger.
- Licensor/Entertainment: Glenda Beltran – ViacomCBS
- Licensee/Manufacturer: Anna Mowbray – Zuru
- Marketing/PR: Krista Berger – Mattel
- Rising Star Corporate: Elaine Chang – Disney Parks, Experiences and Products and Maddie Michalik – The Toy Book.
- Rising Star Independent: Madison Robinson – FishFlops Jill Walters – Crazy Aaron’s Puttyworld
- Social Responsibility: Nancy Molenda – Mattel
Hasbro Chairman and CEO Brian Goldner presented longtime 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 organisation with an infrastructure, hundreds of events and a growth strategy for the future. WIT also announced that Janice Ross will lead WIT as its new president, beginning in March.
“It was an absolutely extraordinary evening, with more than 850 guests joining us to celebrate brilliant women making an impact on our industry,” said 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.”
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.
WIT thanks its 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 organisation 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 programmes and networking events, and support initiatives for WIT’s members and its community.
