The Toy Association™ Announces Strategic New Hires

The Toy Association™ Announces Strategic New Hires

NEW YORK, NY | September 22, 2025 - The Toy Association™ Inc., the business trade association representing a wide array of manufacturers, retailers, licensors, and others involved in the youth entertainment industry, announced today that Jeff Snyderman will be joining as Chief Financial Officer and Maria Sierra will join as Vice President, Government Affairs.

Jeff Snyderman brings nine years of direct CFO experience to his new role, including seven years as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Horizon Group USA, a Toy Association member company. Prior to that, he spent 16 years at Toys "R" Us, Inc., where he held various finance roles, culminating in eight years as Vice President of Finance. In that position, he led a 125-person team across New Jersey and India and oversaw all facets of the business's finance operations, including merchandising payables, accounting, payroll, credit allowances, marketing finance, and more.

Snyderman joins The Toy Association effective immediately and is responsible for leading the organization's finance, insurance, investment, IT, and facilities operations. Snyderman will report directly to Greg Ahearn, President & CEO, and will be based at the Association's headquarters in New York. As part of this transition, Human Resources will now report to Kathrin Belliveau, Chief Policy Officer, drawing on her compliance and labor expertise.

"As we continue to increase our member offerings and address the rapidly evolving needs of the industry, we're putting the right resources and tools in place across the organization," said Greg Ahearn, President & CEO of The Toy Association. "We are looking forward to serving our members and supporting them to grow their businesses into the future."

Also joining The Toy Association, on September 29, is Maria Sierra as Vice President Federal Government Affairs. Based in Washington, DC, Sierra will provide The Toy Association with a dedicated on the ground presence in the nation's capital and will report directly to Kathrin Belliveau. An attorney, Sierra previously worked as Director of International Trade Policy at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and served as a policy advisor to U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), where she worked on many issues including IP infringement, toy knockoffs, and counterfeits.

In addition to Snyderman and Sierra, The Toy Association recently announced that Lindsey Hueer joined the organization in August as Senior Manager of State Government Affairs.

About The Toy Association™ toyassociation.org / toyfoundation.org / peopleofplay.com / thegeniusofplay.org / playsafe.org
Founded in 1916, The Toy Association™, Inc. is the business trade association representing all businesses involved in creating and delivering toys and youth entertainment products for kids of all ages. The Toy Association leads the health and growth of the U.S. toy industry, which has an annual U.S. economic impact of $155.7 billion, and its roughly 900 members drive the annual $42 billion U.S. domestic toy market. The Toy Association serves as the industry's voice on the developmental benefits of play and promotes play's positive impact on childhood development. The organization has a long history of leadership in toy safety, having helped develop the first comprehensive toy safety standard more than 40 years ago, and remains committed to working with medical experts, governments, consumers, and the industry on ongoing programs to ensure safe and fun play.

As a global leader, The Toy Association produces the world-renowned Toy Fair™ in New York City; hosts marketplace activities at The Toy Building in Los Angeles; engages in state, federal, and international advocacy on behalf of its members; supports the inventor and design community through People of Play™ and its numerous assets and events, including the consumer-facing Chicago Toy & Game Fair; sustains the Canadian Toy Association; acts as secretariat for the International Council of Toy Industries and International Toy Industry CEO Roundtable; and chairs the committee that reviews and revises America's widely emulated ASTM F963 toy safety standard. The Toy Association's philanthropic arm is The Toy Foundation™, a 501 (c)(3) children's charity that acts as the uniting force for the collective philanthropy of the toy industry. To date, The Toy Foundation has delivered the joy of play to 35 million children in need worldwide.