Christine Miller succeeds Max Rangel, who became Spin Master CEO in 2021.Andrew Lahodynskyj/The Canadian Press
Toy company Spin Master Corp. TOY-T has named Christina Miller as the company’s new chief executive, effective July 7.
The company said Monday that Miller, a independent director on Spin Master’s board since May 2020, will succeed Max Rangel in the top job.
“We’ve known Christina for more than 20 years and she is a storyteller and brand-builder by nature and will bring her deep experience of balancing art and science in operating franchises, brands and digital platforms at scale to further progress our legacy as creators and disrupters in the industry,” Spin Master co-founder Ronnen Harary said in a statement.
Spin Master is the company behind brands such as Paw Patrol, Melissa & Doug, Bakugan and Rubik’s Cube. It also has an in-house entertainment studio and a presence in digital games with Toca Boca and Piknik.
Miller is a former president of WarnerMedia’s WBD-Q kids, young adults and classic division where she was responsible for oversight of content development, production and franchise management for Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang and TCM.
Rangel was appointed global president of Spin Master in January 2021 and became global president and chief executive a few months later.
Spin Master chair and co-founder Anton Rabie said Rangel led the company through a challenging period in its history.
“Under his leadership we have meaningfully diversified the business, enhanced our supply chain capabilities and improved profitability and free cash flow, all of which have contributed to a stronger company, well-positioned for long-term growth,” Rabie said.
The company said Rangel will work with Miller over the next three months to ensure a seamless leadership transition for the business.
Spin Master said earlier this month that it has cut jobs as it works to weather the impact of global tariffs on its business, but did not say how many employees were affected.
It said the cuts were one part of a multi-pronged plan to deal with the effect of tariffs, which also includes diversifying its supply chains and cutting costs.
In reporting the company’s first-quarter results earlier this year, chief financial officer Mark Segal said roughly 42.5 per cent of Spin Master’s total revenue is represented by the U.S. market and therefore subject to U.S. tariffs on other countries.
Of that revenue pool, he said around 55 per cent of toy production is sourced from China and 45 per cent from elsewhere — such as Vietnam, India, Mexico, Indonesia and the European Union.
By the end of this year, Segal said the company plans to produce around 70 per cent of toys for the U.S. market from outside of China, and 75 to 80 per cent by the end of 2026.