Craig is charged with expanding the group’s customer, marketing, licensing and brand-building activity across The Entertainer and Addo Play
Teal Group, the parent company of the The Entertainer, has appointed Craig Inglis as Group Chief Customer Officer.
Effective 7 September, he will join the group board with responsibility for leading all customer, marketing, licensing and brand-building activity across both The Entertainer and its sister business Addo Play.
The new role will, for the first time in the company’s history, unify its approach to customers, brand and marketing across the organisation. Teal Group says the role is a product itstransformation since becoming employee-owned 12 months ago, with customer insight, proposition development and brand building now playing a central role in shaping business strategy and day-to-day commercial decisions.
“After a period of significant change and much hard work from teams across the business, we have earned the opportunity to invest more deeply in our understanding of our customers, the strength of our channel propositions and in elevating our brands,” said Andrew Murphy OBE, Group Chief Executive Officer, TEAL Group Holdings
“Craig is a hugely accomplished customer, marketing and brand leader and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to secure him as part of the team navigating the business through this new era and our next phase of growth.”
As part of this new direction, and capitalising on The Entertainer’s rapid growth, the development of ambitious and enduring strategic partnerships with global licensors and product brands represents a key element of the new role; as does ensuring the market impact of the group’s proprietary brands – Meccano, Early Learning Centre, Snuggle Buddies and Addo Play.
Craig brings extensive experience of leading customer, marketing and brand transformation, including senior roles at John Lewis, Merlin Entertainments, and Virgin, and more recently in an advisory capacity to The Entertainer.
Craig said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be joining The Entertainer. Having worked closely with the business over the past few months, I’ve seen first-hand the energy and ambition across the team, and I’m hugely excited about the opportunity we have to build on that.
“At the heart of it is play. We have an incredible opportunity not only to understand and serve our customers better, but to champion the importance of play and bring more of it into people’s everyday lives – from building distinctive brands and experiences to creating exciting new partnerships and finding new ways to connect with customers.”
