Hasbro recruits Euro chief from Bird’s Eye

Toy maker Hasbro has appointed Caroline Whitfield as its new European business head, with responsibility for marketing some of the biggest toy brands in the world.

The Hasbro portfolio includes Sindy, My Little Pony and Action Man, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

Whitfield joins from Bird’s Eye, where she is international brands manager for fish. She will report to Hasbro’s European head of strategic marketing, Simon Gardner.

The company is also understood to be hunting another European business head for its games brands. These include Monopoly, Cluedo, Subbuteo and Trivial Pursuit.

This year Hasbro has put much of its marketing activity behind Sindy, in an attempt to challenge the dominance of rival Mattel’s Barbie doll. There have been a number of brand extensions such as Somersaulting Sindy and Hair Dazzle Sindy. These have sold well but still lag behind the market leader. Hasbro has also introduced a new doll called Starla.