Following the January 2019 Governing Board meeting, the ICTI Ethical Toy Program announced the appointment of three new members to its governing board.
Joining the board are Olivia Lankester, senior director, Global Head of Social Impact at the LEGO Group; Michael Hyde, executive director of the Character Group; and Alain Délétroz, director general at Geneva Call (a humanitarian NGO protecting civilians in areas of armed conflict).
“We extend a very warm welcome to our new Governing Board members and look forward to the knowledge and expertise they will bring to the Board,” says Carmel Giblin, president and CEO of the ICTI Ethical Toy Program. “As we build on the enhancements and developments we delivered to the Ethical Toy Program in 2018, our Board will be instrumental in supporting our growth plans as we extend our Buyer Membership Program and increase the number of Certified factories thereby benefitting even more workers.”
Three of the board’s longest serving members also stepped down. Alan Munn and Maria Livanos Cattaui stepped down after 15 years of service on the board and Pär Stenbäck, after 11 years.
Munn, Livanos, and Stenbäck have all been central figures in guiding the Ethical Toy Program since its inception. Maria was co-chair of the Governing Board, Alan served as chair of the Finance Committee, and Pär chaired the Nominations and Governance Committee.
Reflecting on her time on the Board, Livanos Cattaui, former Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and managing director of the World Economic Forum said, “Throughout my career, I have always championed the role of businesses in global economic development. I am proud of the contribution the ICTI Ethical Toy Program has made to improving the lives of workers in the toy supply chain. Over the past 15 years, we have seen the issues change as conditions improve and workers become more empowered. I wish the program continued success as it grows to benefit more workers in more regions across the world.”
Pär Stenbäck, former Minister of Foreign Affairs in Finland, added, “I believe that the contributions of the ICTI Ethical Toy Program in ensuring decent working environment for toy production are indispensable. The program serves as an enduring and successful model which benefits workers, factories, toy brands, retailers and the end users – children – all over the world. After over 10 years on the Board, I know that securing an alliance between industry and civil society is the key to delivering results. Progress demands openness, equal representation, and honesty, as well as transparency on the side of the industry. I wish the program continued success in adapting to the ever-changing conditions in the labor market, in consumer patterns and in the attitudes of business to sustainability and ethical issues.”
Alan Munn, former president and CEO of Tomy Europe, said, “Serving on the Governing Board of the ICTI Ethical Toy Program has been a wonderful opportunity to give something back to the industry that I have worked in for almost 50 years. We have achieved so much through the program. We have accomplished something unique in coming together as an industry to develop a universal voluntary Code of Conduct to ensure that all toys were manufactured ethically and supplied in accordance with our Code. The result has been extremely positive and over the years we have made real changes in the lives of workers. My role, in particular, has been focusing on ensuring a financial model leading to the process becoming self-sustaining, was available.”