Funko Appoints Cynthia Williams Chief Executive Officer, Board Member
May 09 2024 - 3:05PM
Business Wire
-- Experienced Leader, Brings Proven Track
Record Building Global Consumer Brands --
Funko, Inc. (Nasdaq: FNKO), a leading pop culture lifestyle
brand, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed
Cynthia Williams as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective
May 20, 2024. Williams is also expected to join the Funko Board of
Directors on that date. Michael Lunsford will remain the company’s
Interim CEO until Ms. Williams joins the company in May.
Williams will bring nearly two decades of senior leadership
experience across the consumer products, gaming and e-commerce
industries. Most recently, Williams served as president of Hasbro’s
Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Gaming division, where she oversaw
the company’s portfolio of games that includes Dungeons &
Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and Monopoly. During her tenure at
Hasbro, Williams successfully scaled areas of growth and positioned
the Gaming division for continued success amid evolving consumer
demand. Prior to that, Williams spent several years at Microsoft,
most recently as General Manager and Vice President, Gaming
Ecosystem Commercial Team, where she drove the significant
expansion of Xbox Gaming. Earlier, Williams was a senior executive
at Amazon for over a decade, where she played a key role in the
global growth of their e-commerce direct-to-consumer business,
Fulfillment by Amazon.
“After a thorough and comprehensive search process, we are
thrilled to welcome Cynthia as our CEO,” said Jesse Jacobs,
chairman of Funko’s nominating and corporate governance committee
and a partner and co-founder at The Chernin Group, which owns
approximately 25% of Funko’s common stock. “Cynthia has served in a
variety of senior leadership roles with some of the largest and
most well-respected companies in the world. She has a deep
understanding of pop culture, entertainment and fandoms, with a
proven background in building consumer brands, developing worldwide
strategies and driving global growth. We are confident Cynthia has
the experience, leadership capabilities and strategic vision to
guide Funko into the future.”
“We thank Mike for his many contributions,” said Charles Denson,
Funko’s Chairman. “Under his leadership, Funko has refocused its
business on core assets, lowered its debt levels and substantially
improved margins. With Funko now on a solid foundation, Cynthia
will come in and drive the company to the next phase of growth and
profitability. I know Cynthia is the right choice to lead Funko
going forward and we know Mike and Cynthia together will ensure a
seamless transition for all our stakeholders.”
“I am honored to lead Funko, a company celebrated for its
history of creativity and innovation on behalf of a passionate fan
base,” said Williams. “Funko has built a portfolio of valuable
global brands, and I am energized about this unique opportunity to
help Funko fully realize its potential. My extensive experience
with the devoted fans of Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The
Gathering, and Xbox will be highly beneficial in developing
products that continue to appeal to Funko’s passionate fans, both
core fans and collectors. I’m eager to work with the Board,
management team and our employees around the world to further
strengthen our brands and deliver value to our stockholders.”
The CEO search process was led by True Search, a global
executive recruiting firm.
ABOUT FUNKO:
Headquartered in Everett, Washington, Funko is a leading pop
culture lifestyle brand. Funko designs, sources and distributes
licensed pop culture products across multiple categories, including
vinyl figures, action toys, plush, apparel, housewares and
accessories for consumers who seek tangible ways to connect with
their favorite pop culture brands and characters. Learn more at
www.funko.com, and follow us on X (@OriginalFunko) and Instagram
(@OriginalFunko).
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not
relate to matters of historical fact should be considered
forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our
chief executive officer transition and the anticipated timing
thereof; expectations regarding the Company’s growth and
profitability; expectations regarding product development; and
expectations regarding delivering value to stockholders. These
forward-looking statements are based on management’s current
expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees,
but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the
following: our ability to execute our business strategy; our
ability to manage our inventories and growth; our ability to
maintain and realize the full value of our license agreements;
impacts from economic downturns; changes in the retail industry and
markets for our consumer products; our ability to maintain our
relationships with retail customers and distributors; our ability
to compete effectively; fluctuations in our gross margin; our
dependence on content development and creation by third parties;
the ongoing level of popularity of our products with consumers; our
ability to develop and introduce products in a timely and
cost-effective manner; our ability to obtain, maintain and protect
our intellectual property rights or those of our licensors;
potential violations of the intellectual property rights of others;
risks associated with counterfeit versions of our products; risks
related to management transitions; our ability to attract and
retain qualified employees and maintain our corporate culture; our
use of third-party manufacturing; risks associated with climate
change; increased attention to sustainability and environmental,
social and governance initiatives; geographic concentration of our
operations; risks associated with our international operations;
changes in effective tax rates or tax law; our dependence on
vendors and outsourcers; risks relating to government regulation;
risks relating to litigation, including products liability claims
and securities class action litigation; any failure to successfully
integrate or realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions or
investments; future development and acceptance of blockchain
networks; risks associated with receiving payments in digital
assets; risk resulting from our e-commerce business and social
media presence; our ability to successfully operate our information
systems and implement new technology; risks relating to our
indebtedness, including our ability to comply with financial and
negative covenants under our Credit Agreement, as amended; our
ability to secure additional financing on favorable terms or at
all; the potential for our or our third party providers’ electronic
data or the electronic data of our customers to be compromised; the
influence of our significant stockholder, TCG, and the possibility
that TCG’s interests may conflict with the interests of our other
stockholders; risks relating to our organizational structure;
volatility in the price of our Class A common stock; and risks
associated with our internal control over financial reporting.
These and other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk
Factors” in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2023 and our other filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission could cause actual results to differ materially
from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this
press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent
management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While
we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some
point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if
subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking
statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as
of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240509036697/en/
Investor Relations: Investorrelations@funko.com
Media: emily.zalenski@funko.com
Funko (NASDAQ:FNKO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Dec 2024 to Jan 2025
Funko (NASDAQ:FNKO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jan 2024 to Jan 2025