Dive Brief:

• Hasbro CFO and EVP Deborah Thomas announced that she would be retiring after a 24-year stint at the global entertainment company, according to a Wednesday press release.
• The toy and entertainment company is currently in the process of looking for a successor to the CFO position, looking at both external and internal candidates, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Thomas will remain CFO until a successor is chosen and stay on as an adviser afterwards to ensure a smooth transition.
• “Following a smooth leadership transition over the last year, I know Hasbro is in the best of hands with a clear strategy to drive accelerated growth and profit over the years to come,” Thomas said in a statement.

Dive Insight:

Thomas joined Hasbro in 1998 and has served as its CFO for 13 years, taking the company’s top financial seat in 2009, according to a company biography.

Before moving to the CFO position, Thomas served as the entertainment company’s corporate controller and head of corporate finance, and held assurance positions at KPMG prior to joining Hasbro. She currently serves on the board of Logitech and the Rhode Island Airport Corporation.

Thomas “played a key role” in Hasbro’s expansion and helped to manage “nearly every major acquisition Hasbro has made over the past two decades,” according to her biography on the company website.

Hasbro has taken several steps to expand further into the digital gaming space in recent years, including acquiring digital game companion D&D Beyond — a site offering online tools and content for the tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons — for $146.3 million in April 2022. Dungeons & Dragons is published by Hasbro subsidiary Wizards of the Coast, which was acquired by the company in 1999.

Thomas’ departure also comes nearly nine months after the company promoted Chris Cocks, formerly the head of its Wizards of the Coast subsidiary and digital gaming division, to CEO following the death of previous top executive Brian Goldner in October 2021, according to a Jan. 5 report by The Wall Street Journal.

A Microsoft alum, Cocks served as the President of Wizards of the Coast for five years beginning in 2016 before moving to the CEO seat, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Hasbro reported revenues of $1.68 billion for the third quarter of 2022, down 15% year-over-year. Its third quarter results were impacted by accelerated consumer shipments by retailers in the previous quarter due to forecasted supply chain struggles, according to the entertainment company.

Hasbro declined to comment beyond the details included in its press release.