The Brand Liaison has tapped industry veteran and Women in Toys co-chair Anita Castellar to manage a variety of special projects.

In her new role, Castellar will oversee numerous undertakings including ideation, product development and the licensing of unique intellectual properties tied to Brand Liaison’s portfolio of character and entertainment brands.

Castellar is a toy industry veteran who has created retail programs and product development strategies for Disney and Pixar. Most recently, she served as manager, global merchandise strategy at the Walt Disney Company. Other roles include global brand manager, Star Wars at Hasbro and select roles on the licensing team at Lucasfilm. Castellar has been tied to the Star Wars franchise for more than 20 years.

“Anita’s ability to identify unique products and position them for retail success is uncanny.” Says Steven Heller, president, The Brand Liaison. “As our company continues to grow, we identified a need for someone with a combination of product development, ideation and implementation skills. Anita has it all.”

Castellar will join the Brand Liaison at Licensing Expo in Las Vegas May 22-24.