ChiTAG Names Dave Harris, Matt Nuccio to Advisory Board
The Chicago Toy and Game Group, organizer of ChiTAG, announced that Dave Harris, director of inventor relations and strategic partnerships at Mattel, and Matt Nuccio, president of Design Edge, have joined its Advisory Board.
Harris has been with Fisher-Price for 20 years and leads the Fisher-Price and Mattel inventor relations teams located in East Aurora, N.Y. and El Segundo, Calif. At Fisher-Price, he has handled marketing for categories including infant, newborn, baby gear, activity toys, Power Wheels, and new opportunities. He also spent several years in strategic partnerships, working with best-in-class education and tech partners, and creating retail-exclusive products.
Nuccio heads up Design Edge, an award-winning international design development agency with offices in New York and Hong Kong. For more than 25 years, Design Edge has designed packaging, products, displays, building prototypes, as well as handled sourcing for hundreds of toy companies. Nuccio is a frequent lecturer on design and manufacturing, having spoken at trade shows, inventor clubs, and universities around the world.
Griddly Games Taps New Head of Ops, Marketing
Griddly Games announced the appointment of Ellora Nandi as head of operations and marketing.
In this role, Nandi will manage the day-to-day operations of the Griddly Games internal departments and implement procedures to deliver the best productivity for the company’s games and STEAM category of science activity craft kits for kids.
Reporting directly to President and Founder Reisa Schwartzman, Nandi will oversee the logistics of the company’s new and existing manufacturing timelines, retail sales relationships, deliverables, and marketing collateral development. She will work with all existing and new vendors as well as manage the current product line production runs and inventory. In addition, Nandi will tend to the development and updates of the company’s sales and marketing materials, including the corporate website, social media content video and visuals, and the annual product catalog.
Nandi previously served as digital marketing coordinator of the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation. Prior to that, she was the National Service Coordinator at one of the world’s largest international real estate sales corporations. She began her career as a graphic designer for a product distribution company and urban system design service organization.
Josslynne Welch Named President, Litzky PR
Michele Litzky, the founder of Litzky Public Relations (LPR), a full-service boutique PR agency, has appointed Josslynne Welch, a 20-year veteran of LPR, to the role of president. Formerly, Welch held the title of executive vice-president and director of client services.
After founding the agency in 1988 and serving as its president for three decades, Litzky will step into her new role as CEO, effective immediately. The announcement comes on the heels of the New Jersey PR firm’s 30th anniversary.
Welch joined LPR in the summer of 1998 as an intern, after having Litzky as an adjunct professor during her studies at New York University. She transitioned into a full-time role with the firm prior to her 2000 graduation and has risen through the ranks of the agency, where she now manages a team of 25 professionals. During her tenure, Welch has led the charge on some of the agency’s most successful and award-winning campaigns, on behalf of clients including Hasbro, The Toy Association, TTPM, and Kamik.
Under Welch’s guidance as president, the agency is poised for continued growth. LPR recently rounded out its leadership team with the addition of seasoned industry veteran Marie Baker, director of strategy, and welcomed new clients including American Mensa, National Geographic, and Pacific Cycle.