TOMY International has appointed former Mattel exec Vincent D’Alleva as its new chief brand officer. Effective immediately, D’Alleva will be responsible for the company’s North and South American expansion efforts, guiding brand, product and consumer marketing strategies for its infant, toddler and preschool businesses.

Most recently, D’Alleva was SVP of global brands and GM at Mattel/Fisher-Price. He also served as EVP of marketing and product development/GM at Dorel Juvenile Group for seven years.

TOMY International, a subsidiary of Japan-based TOMY Company, has had a busy year, taking on the master toy license for PBS KIDS series Nature Cat in North America (with products launching this fall), while also continuing its toy deals with Pixar’s Inside Out and Disney’s Zootopia (pictured). TOMY was formerly master toy licensee for Pokémon before Wicked Cool Toys made a deal, in May, to assume those rights, but the company has stayed on as a key licensing partner for the brand.

In January, TOMY was named  master toy partner for preschool series Kazoops, which airs on CBeebies, ABC Kids and Netflix. More recently, it was announced as a partner for Warner Bros.’s Justice League consumer products program in Asia-Pacific.