Speakers

Mr. Cocks has served as Chief Executive Officer of Hasbro since February 2022. Prior to that, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming since 2021 and prior to that served as President of Wizards of the Coast since 2016, when he joined Hasbro from Microsoft. 

Mr. Cocks’s vision, skills and experience, combined with his extensive omni-channel background and proven track record, make him uniquely positioned to unlock Hasbro’s future potential and drive supercharged growth across Hasbro’s brands.

Under Mr. Cocks’s executive leadership as President and COO of Wizards of the Coast, Wizards of the Coast grew by over 150% in global revenue, surpassing $1 billion in 2021. His bold new approach to customer segmentation unlocked numerous multi-hundred-million-dollar insights and led Wizard’s iconic brand MAGIC: THE GATHERING to multiple years of consecutive growth since 2018. Mr. Cocks was instrumental in the successful expansion into digital through MAGIC: THE GATHERING Arena for PC and mobile. Additionally, with Mr. Cocks at the helm, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS became a pop culture powerhouse with over 50M fans to date, and through innovative ideas in digital gaming and entertainment, the brand is set up for ongoing success.

Prior to Hasbro, Mr. Cocks has had numerous brand management, digital marketing, technical, sales and general management experiences at companies including Microsoft, Leapfrog and Procter & Gamble, working on category-leading brands including Xbox, Halo, Fable, Leapster, Actonel, MSN and Windows.

As Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Hasbro, Inc., Deborah Thomas leads the company’s global corporate financial operations—from treasury, tax, and investor relations, to internal audit, accounting and control, and business planning and analysis. She also oversees the company’s global information technology organization. Since joining Hasbro in 1998, Deborah has played a key role in Hasbro’s expansion across media and markets around the world and has helped manage nearly every major acquisition Hasbro has made over the past two decades.

Prior to becoming CFO in 2009, Deborah served as Hasbro’s Corporate Comptroller and Head of Corporate Finance. Before joining Hasbro, she held assurance positions at KPMG Peat Marwick, LLP in the U.S. and the U.K.

Deborah currently serves on the boards of Logitech and the Rhode Island Airport Corporation. She has earned recognition for her achievements in and out of the boardroom—as March of Dimes Rhode Island’s Citizen of the Year, and as one of Providence Business News’ CFOs of the Year. Deborah graduated from Providence College and is a CPA.

Eric Nyman is Hasbro’s President and Chief Operating Officer. Eric has been a valued member of Hasbro for over 18 years, driving consumer-focused innovation across Hasbro’s iconic brand portfolio. Eric demonstrates leadership and creativity that, coupled with his vast industry and company knowledge, will benefit Hasbro as it continues to supercharge growth and unlock value for all stakeholders. Eric also leads all of Hasbro’s licensed consumer products business and Hasbro Pulse, the company’s direct-to-consumer platform. 

Prior to being named President and COO, Eric was Chief Operating Officer of Hasbro’s Consumer Products segment and Chief Consumer Officer, Hasbro. Eric was responsible for driving innovation across global design, development and marketing, and oversaw the commercial operations and partner relationships for the company’s extensive brand portfolio, driving significant growth across Hasbro Gaming, Nerf, PlayDoh, Transformers and My Little Pony, along with partner brands like Star Wars and Marvel. 

Since joining Hasbro in 2003, Eric has served in a number of senior roles, including President of Hasbro North America and General Manager and Senior Vice President of Marketing. Before joining Hasbro, he held leadership positions at Timberland and LEGO. 

Eric serves on the Virginia Wesleyan University Board of Trustees. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Virginia Wesleyan and an MBA from the Boston College Carroll School of Management.
 

As Chief Commercial Officer of Hasbro, Inc., Matt Austin leads all commercial activities across the company’s global operating markets – leading the global sales and marketing organization and driving long-term growth in mature and emerging markets. Matt leverages Hasbro's commercial opportunities with powerful, data-driven consumer insights and strategic partnerships across different channels, including e-commerce and direct fan experiences, to continue to drive profitability. 
 
Matt joined Hasbro in 2019 as President of Europe and Asia where he drove sustainable growth across key regions for the company’s global business. He has built a strong reputation for developing and empowering impactful teams with a laser focus on achieving strategic priorities and delighting consumers. 
 
Before joining Hasbro, Matt was CEO for the UK and Ireland at Lindt & Sprungli, and prior to that he worked for MARS across multiple categories, geographies and functions including a Global Marketing Leadership role on Confections, as well as the General Manager for Confections in Europe and General Manager for the MARS food business in Germany. In both organizations, he was recognized for his ability to build successful, sustainable business growth with a consumer-first approach.

As Chief Global Supply Chain Officer of Hasbro, Inc., Shane Azzi oversees Hasbro’s global supply planning, global sourcing and procurement, logistics and fulfillment, quality assurance and security, and works to position Hasbro’s supply chain as a competitive advantage, creating value and building flexibility and resilience to exceed customer expectations.
 
Shane has more than 25 years of consumer packaged goods and diverse supply chain experience. Prior to joining Hasbro, Shane held the position of Chief Supply Chain Officer for Kimberly-Clark, and previously served as Global Vice President of Supply Chain for Mars Inc. While at Mars, Shane held leadership positions in the areas of logistics management, information technology, sales and operations planning, and procurement.
 
Shane began his career in the Australian Army as a Logistics Officer and served for 10 years in various planning and operations roles. He also has experience in the contract logistics field where he led operations and strategy focused on acquisitions and mergers. He holds a graduate degree in Integrated Logistics Management from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and an undergraduate degree from the Military College in Duntroon, Australia.

As Chief Purpose Officer of Hasbro, Inc., Kathrin Belliveau advances Hasbro’s purpose to make the world a better place for all children, fans and families, and expands the positive impact that Hasbro, uniquely, can make. She leads the Global Purpose Organization which consists of strategic functions across the business, including Government Relations, Global Communications, Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethical Sourcing, Philanthropy, and Social Impact. Since joining Hasbro in 1997, Kathrin has led several strategic initiatives that have helped establish Hasbro as a leader in ethical and sustainable business practices. She established Hasbro’s global government relations practice, developed programs to ensure ethical sourcing and product safety, and led the evolution of the company’s CSR strategy and priorities.

A magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wellesley College, Kathrin is a member of the Wellesley Business Leadership Council. She also holds a law degree from Boston College Law School. Kathrin serves on the boards of several non-profits, including The Toy Association and Year Up.
 

As President, Film & Television, Bertram is responsible for the growth of eOne’s content and distribution groups globally, accelerating its strategy to increase the volume of premium film and television content.  Bertram, who oversees all commercial and creative operations across filmed entertainment, is also responsible for managing the deep portfolio of Hasbro entertainment brands across live action film and television.

Bertram joined eOne in 2014 from DreamWorks Animation where he led new business development and operations,  and was responsible for building and managing new technology initiatives and strategic partnerships.  Over the course of his career, Bertram held a number of key roles at DreamWorks including supervision of the company’s London-based theatrical marketing and distribution activities and serving as Chief Financial Officer of the privately held DreamWorks, LLC until the company’s sale to Viacom in 2005.  After the sale, he joined Paramount Pictures as President of Business Operations for the Home Entertainment division where he was responsible for overseeing Paramount’s multi-billion dollar worldwide DVD business.  Bertram began his career in production finance in Paramount’s Television division after graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara with an MA and BA in Economics.

Adam Biehl has spent over twenty years in product development, brand strategy and marketing focused in the “business of play.”  He is currently Senior Vice President & GM, Hasbro Gaming, where he oversees Hasbro’s global board game division, including many of the world’s most recognizable game brands, including Monopoly, Clue, Game of Life, Taboo, Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit.  

Adam took over leadership of Hasbro Gaming in 2021, and previously spent 15 years working on the Action Brands business, including partnering with Marvel, LucasFilm, Sony, Paramount, and other global studios to bring entertainment-inspired products to life for fans of all ages.   Prior to Hasbro, Adam spent time at various multinational companies focused on kids and family products, including LeapFrog Enterprises, VTech Electronics, and Graco Children’s Products.

Adam serves on the Board of Directors for Foster Forward, a Rhode Island based non-profit whose mission is to empower lives impacted by foster care.  He earned his BBA in Marketing & BSC in Organizational Communications from Ohio University, and his MBA from Ohio University. 
 

Kim Boyd is the Head of Global Brands & Consumer Innovation for Hasbro, inclusive of global marketing, product design, creative development engineering and project management. Since joining the company 16 year ago, she has held leadership roles across brand and commercial management, most recently as SVP of US Marketing, creating compelling and profitable solutions for Hasbro’s US-based customers and consumers. 

Prior to joining Hasbro, Ms. Boyd held brand management positions at LEGO. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College as well as an MBA from F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Discovery Family Channel and for the National Celiac Association.

As Head of Licensed Consumer Products and Business Development, Casey Collins bringing decades of experience and a consistent track record for success to his role leading Hasbro’s Global Consumer Products team.  

Before joining Hasbro, Mr. Collins held the position of Executive Vice President, Global Consumer Products with Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment, where he was responsible for monetizing fan engagement across global licensing, e-commerce, venue merchandise, digital gaming and home entertainment.  Mr. Collins was also the Executive Vice President, Global Licensing and Entertainment at MGA Entertainment and the former Head of Domestic Licensing and Head of International Licensing at Lucasfilm.  

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business from Florida State University and did post graduate work at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Kwamina Crankson is Senior Vice President and General Manager, Hasbro Direct, heading up the direct-to-consumer business of Hasbro Pulse, focused on leading the Fan economy.

Crankson is originally from Ghana but grew up in the UK and began his career at some of the top digital agencies in the world, including AKQA. He was recruited by Nike to head up Nike+ and Sport Music for Nike Western Europe. When Nike decided to double down on digital products and services – he was relocated to the world HQ as a key leader in Nike’s digital future.

Kwamina is a digital innovator. He has two patents with Nike for his work on the Nike+ Fuel Band which created an entire market for wrist-based tracking devices outside of Nike. He has worked on innovations for elite athletes and celebrities.

As President of eOne’s Family Brands division, Olivier oversees all content creation and distribution activities for the division across all brands from the combined portfolio of kids-targeted properties which includes Peppa Pig, PJ Masks, My Little Pony, Power Rangers and Transformers amongst others. His responsibilities include developing properties into global TV, home entertainment, new media and licensing and merchandising brands. Olivier also supervises the Brand Management of all preschool, fashion and action adventure brands within the combined portfolio. Under his leadership, yearly retail revenues generated by eOne’s preschool hit properties Peppa Pig and PJ Masks have surpassed one billion dollars. 

Prior to joining eOne, Olivier Dumont served as MD of kid’s entertainment company TV Loonland overseeing all creative and commercial activities. He had previously been MD of French animation studio Saban International Paris Animation. His career in television and kids programming began in 1993 when he joined International distributor Europe Images International (Lagardere group). He also worked at French kids broadcaster Canal J where he was responsible for acquisitions and co-productions. Dumont studied French and Anglo-American law at the Universite Paris X Nanterre and intellectual property law at Universite Panthéon Assas (Paris II).

Cynthia Williams is President of Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming at Hasbro. In this role, Cynthia leads the strategy for two of the biggest names in gaming, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, while driving continued global growth for the division and leading new fan and story-led tabletop and digital experiences. She is focused on building and expanding on the outstanding foundation laid by Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks, under whose leadership Wizards of the Coast doubled its revenue from 2018 to 2021.
 
Cynthia has a deep understanding of technology and e-commerce, along with cloud and console-based gaming, with expertise in scaling businesses to drive profitable growth. She previously served as General Manager and Vice President, Gaming Ecosystem Commercial Team at Microsoft, notably driving the expansion of Xbox Gaming and the acceleration of game-creator growth. Prior to joining Microsoft, Ms. Williams spent more than a decade at Amazon, where she led the global growth of their e-commerce direct-to-consumer business, Fulfillment by Amazon.
 
She serves on the Board of Directors for Aterian and is an advisor to Mana Up Hawaii, a product incubator focused on empowering Hawaiian entrepreneurs to scale globally. Cynthia graduated from Western Carolina University with a B.S. in Business Administration, Summa Cum Laude and received her MBA with Distinction from Wake Forest University.