Case Studies

Building Brand and Commercial Leadership for Mattel ANZ

Galvin-Rowley Executive delivers comprehensive talent solutions for global toy leader across multiple roles over four years

The Brief

Mattel Australia & New Zealand, a division of the global leader in children’s entertainment and toy manufacturing, required exceptional commercial and brand talent to maintain market leadership and accelerate innovation across the Australian and New Zealand markets. Over a four-year period, Mattel engaged Galvin-Rowley Executive as their trusted recruitment partner to address multiple high-impact leadership appointments across both marketing and commercial divisions.

The Challenge

Operating in a fast-moving consumer goods market, Mattel faced several interconnected challenges in building their leadership team:

Brand Leadership Requirements

Finding brand custodians with deep consumer insight and creative excellence
Securing specialists who could navigate both boys’ and girls’ toy segments with equal expertise
Identifying leaders capable of driving innovation in a rapidly evolving entertainment landscape

Commercial Excellence Demands

Recruiting sales leaders with proven commercial acumen and strategic vision
Securing talent with national market experience and distributor relationship expertise
Finding leaders who could balance local market needs with global brand consistency

Cultural and Strategic Alignment

Ensuring all appointments aligned with Mattel’s brand values and cultural ethos
Building inclusive, high-performing teams across diverse consumer segments
Maintaining continuity and momentum across multiple concurrent searches

Our Approach

Galvin-Rowley Executive deployed tailored search strategies for each mandate, combining industry insight, deep talent networks, and cultural alignment assessment to deliver sustainable, long-term solutions.

Strategic Partnership Development: We established ourselves as an extension of Mattel’s talent acquisition function, developing deep understanding of their brand portfolio, market dynamics, and cultural requirements across each division.

Segment-Specific Expertise: Our approach recognised the unique demands of different toy categories, from action figures and vehicles to dolls and lifestyle products, ensuring candidates possessed relevant consumer insights and category experience.

Multi-Year Talent Pipeline Management: Rather than treating each role as an isolated search, we developed comprehensive talent mapping across the consumer goods sector, building relationships with potential candidates even before specific opportunities arose.

Cultural Integration Focus: Every candidate assessment included thorough evaluation of cultural fit with Mattel’s values-driven, innovation-focused environment, ensuring long-term retention and team cohesion.

The Outcome

Our comprehensive approach delivered exceptional results across eight successful placements, strengthening Mattel’s market position through transformative leadership appointments:

Marketing Leadership Appointments:

Marketing Manager (Boys)

Senior Marketing Manager

Senior Marketing Manager (Boys)

Marketing Manager (Girls)

Senior Manager, Marketing IPS

Commercial and Sales Leadership:

National Business Manager (Senior Manager Sales)

National Business Manager

People and Culture Leadership:

Chief People Officer

These placements helped Mattel strengthen its brand portfolio leadership, enhance national sales performance, and reinforce its internal capability through transformative HR leadership. The success of this long-term collaboration demonstrates our ability to identify niche brand specialists across key consumer segments, secure experienced commercial talent with a national remit, and partner closely with HR and executive leadership to align talent with strategic goals.

Consumer Goods Recruitment Expertise

Galvin-Rowley Executive’s deep understanding of the fast-moving consumer goods sector enables us to navigate the unique challenges of brand-driven organisations. Our expertise encompasses brand management across diverse consumer segments, commercial leadership in competitive retail environments, and the cultural nuances of global brands operating in local markets.

We understand that success in consumer goods requires not just functional expertise but also an intuitive grasp of consumer behaviour, brand equity, and the ability to drive innovation while maintaining brand consistency across diverse product portfolios.

Building Brand and Commercial Leadership for Mattel ANZ

Key Takeaways

• Strategic Partnership Approach: Four-year collaboration demonstrates the value of building deep, ongoing relationships rather than transactional search services

• Segment Specialisation: Successfully placed specialists across boys', girls', and integrated product segments, showing nuanced understanding of category-specific requirements

• Multi-Functional Success: Delivered exceptional results across marketing, sales, and people functions, demonstrating versatility and comprehensive market coverage

• Brand-Culture Alignment: Every placement reflected strong alignment with Mattel's values and cultural expectations, ensuring sustainable long-term impact

• National Market Expertise: Secured candidates with proven track records managing national accounts and distributor relationships in the Australian and New Zealand markets

FAQs

How does Galvin-Rowley Executive approach multi-year recruitment partnerships?

Galvin-Rowley Executive treats extended partnerships as strategic alliances, developing deep institutional knowledge of client culture, market dynamics, and talent requirements. This approach allows us to build comprehensive talent pipelines, anticipate future needs, and maintain continuity across multiple appointments, delivering superior outcomes compared to transactional search relationships.

What makes consumer goods recruitment particularly challenging?

Consumer goods recruitment requires understanding of both functional expertise and brand sensibilities. Galvin-Rowley Executive recognises that successful consumer goods leaders must balance analytical commercial skills with creative brand intuition, understand diverse consumer segments, and navigate the complexities of retail relationships while maintaining global brand consistency.

How does Galvin-Rowley Executive ensure cultural fit in global brand environments?

Our assessment process evaluates candidates’ ability to embody brand values while adapting to local market conditions. We conduct thorough cultural alignment interviews and reference checks with previous colleagues in similar environments and assess candidates’ track record of building inclusive, high-performing teams within values-driven organisations.

What Our Clients Say

I first met Jennifer as a candidate. Having touched most of the major search firms as a candidate for executive roles and experienced first-hand their generally low level of candidate care, I have had no hesitation in recommending Jennifer to colleagues who are searching for a new job, or in using her myself as a preferred provider when in need of HR staff.

Mike Johnson

Former HR Director, SKILLED Group

Jen has really invested in understanding our culture and what attributes to look for to ensure a seamless team-fit. In addition, her definition of quality and high-calibre is the same as ours.
That makes life so much easier, and means we are consistently forced to make tough choices at the end of a relatively short recruitment period.
What else could we ask? Highly professional, and a calmly positive influence on us all.

Russell Parker

CEO, Kikki.K
Former CEO, Hallmark International

Galvin-Rowley Executive is a boutique executive placement agency that delivers above and beyond service with integrity to its clients.
The Director, Jennifer Galvin-Rowley, takes the time to understand her clients’ needs and then searches through her amazing network of contacts to find the right people for the right jobs.
Whilst I was CEO of BeyondBlue, Jennifer and her team were a delight to work with and I wouldn’t go anywhere else if I was looking for a key executive.

Dawn O’Neil, AM

Former CEO, BeyondBlue

For nine months we’d searched in vain for a HSE Manager. This was a difficult project: candidates were scarce, our standards were high, and the role was in the country.
When Jen was referred to us, she stood above the other recruiters for three reasons: she dealt in specialist OH&S Managers; she knew how to fill rural roles; and she didn’t advertise—she searched.
Jen approached the task with imagination. Her ideas were unusual, yet so logical. She handled candidates with promptness and respect, and we swiftly found and hired a great fit. I therefore suggest you let Jen recruit your next manager.

Jim Cooper

CEO, Port of Portland

Over the past decade I have engaged Jenny on a number of occasions to source talent across a variety of roles, specifically in HR. She is excellent in her client management as well as her candidate care.
She is responsive to the more challenging assignments and creates a realistic expectation for both the client and her deliverables. Given the service she has provided each time, I have consistently sought her out as a provider and truly value the relationship.