Joe Lawandas
President
Smith & Tinker

In his thirteen years in management and marketing, Joe Lawandus has built and overseen the growth of brands for some of the best-known companies in the toy industry, including Disney, Cranium and Hasbro. Now he serves as the President at Smith and Tinker. He is a founding member of the company, overseeing all of Smith & Tinker's marketing, sales, and development initiatives for the company's upcoming interactive toys.

Most recently, Joe was the senior vice president and general manager at Cranium, Inc., in Seattle, WA. He served as the executive leader of a new-toy team, overseeing product management, development and creative functions. Prior to Cranium, Joe spent five years at Disney Consumer Products as the vice president and general manager of Disney Toys & Sporting Goods. While there, Joe drove global strategy and was responsible for a $1 billion U.S. retail P&L and a staff of forty people. In this position, Joe led the brand management, retail sales and marketing initiatives for evergreen franchises such as Disney Princess, Winnie the Pooh and Power Rangers, and also led the introduction of new franchises including Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney Fairies and the relaunch of Mickey Mouse. He oversaw strategic management between Disney and their multinational partners including Hasbro, Mattel, Bandai, Wal-Mart, Target and Toys R Us.

A toy industry veteran, Joe was also a founding partner and the vice president of marketing for Telestar Interactive Corporation, responsible for negotiating key licenses with the MLB, NASCAR, NFL, New Line Cinema, and Universal Studios. Prior to this, he served as global brand manager at the Hasbro Toy Group, where he oversaw global marketing on all Nerf brand products.

Joe started his career in sales with Dunlop Maxfli Sports Corporation, quickly ascending to head up their U.S. marketing group, where he managed their entire racquet sports portfolio.