At a Glance Schedule  |  Virtual Goods Schedule  |  Game, Toy and Tech Schedule

Speakers

Shirin Salemnia
Founder and CEO
PlayWerks

Shirin Salemnia currently serves as Founder and CEO of PlayWerks, a company that specializes in being the leading independent producer of children's interactive media and entertainment with content/IP on multi-platforms, and consumer products across all age demographics. The company strives to create and distribute innovative quality entertainment for the Children's Entertainment Industry.

Previously, Shirin worked as the Research Manager & Bratz Brand Manager at MGA Entertainment, where she combined her child and youth marketing expertise with her toy marketing experience to perform ongoing research and analysis of the most current industry trends, consumer motivations and competitor activity for over five years. Salemnia was also responsible for the design development of MGA’s Play Lab - a place where dyads and triads of children and their parents gather for in-house qualitative research right on MGA’s premises.

Prior to MGA, Salemnia worked at Mattel, Inc. in Worldwide Consumer Research for the Girls Division. Here, in addition to conducting both qualitative and quantitative research, she was responsible for supporting Strategic Planning in all related new business ventures.

Before entering the Toy industry, Salemnia was a Nursery and Pre-Kindergarten Teacher at Stephen S. Wise Preschool in Los Angeles for several years where she developed team projects and study plans for the class curriculum, as well as honed her skills at observing children at play with toys. “My teaching experience gave me an incredible opportunity to gain a thorough understanding of the universal and timeless emotional needs that all children share,” says Salemnia. “I love kids, and watching them at play is so magical. I learn so much from them!”

Salemnia obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Child/Family and Consumer Sciences at California State University, Northridge in 2000. She is currently very actively involved in Women in Film, Next Gen Femmes, the Entertainment Division of the Jewish Federation, and was the past President of Hadassah Southern California Vanguard II, a charitable organization that raises funds for the Hadassah Hospital in Israel. Her hobbies include fashion, spirituality, and personal development. She currently lives in Los Angeles.
.