Jay Foreman

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For the American football player, see Jay Foreman (football player).

Jay Foreman (born August 9, 1962) is an American businessman, founder and past-president of Play Along, the Florida based toy company that is now a wholly owned division of Jakks Pacific (NASDAQ:JAKK).

Foreman was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He founded Play Along in 1999 with two partners. He managed all aspects of marketing, product development and sourcing for Play Along. Product lines he developed include Cabbage Patch Kids, Doodle Bear, Care Bears, NASCAR toy vehicles, Lord of the Rings action figures, the Britney Spears fashion dolls and accessories, and a doll line based on Disney’s Hannah Montana TV show.

Prior to founding Play Along, Foreman served as Senior Vice President of Galoob Toys where he acquired the rights for and developed the toy line based on the world famous Spice Girls, in association with Simon Fuller, President of 19 Entertainment and creator of American Idol. The Spice Girls toy line was one of the most successful celebrity doll lines of all time.

Foreman began his career at the age of 18 while working in the amusement industry in Wildwood, N.J. He got his first job in the toy business five years later with the largest domestic manufacturer of plush toys at the time, Fable Toys, based in Brooklyn, NY. From 1990 to 1996, Foreman was the general manager and a founding partner of Play-By-Play Toys and Novelties, which was a major player in the plush toy business and the largest distributor of toys and novelties to the amusement and theme park industries.

Foreman has worked with many major entertainment content providers including Warner Bros., Disney, Sony, Fox and Paramount. In addition, he’s worked with many well-known corporate brand owners such as Coca Cola and Harley-Davidson, creating the famous Coca Cola plush polar bear collections and the popular "Harley Hog" plush toy lines. Foreman also created the multi-million dollar selling Playfaces pillow, and he has produced over forty TV commercials that promoted Play Along's toy lines selling over $1B worth of toys at wholesale to such retailers as Wal-Mart, Target and Toys R Us.

In addition to his role at Play Along, Foreman served as a board member of the License Merchandise Marketing Association (LIMA) and currently serves on the board of the Toy Industry Association's charity foundation.