Jay Foreman is an American businessman. He is currently President and CEO of Acorn Management Group (AMG), which is a US based private investment fund owned by Oaktree Capital Management and established to invest in and/or acquire assets and interests in children's oriented consumer products companies and product lines with a value of $100mm to $500mm or more. He is also President/CEO of The Bridge Direct, a global sourcing and supply chain management company. He resides in Boca Raton, FL.
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Foreman began his career at the age of 18 while working on the boardwalk in the amusement industry in Wildwood, N.J. He got his first "real 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. The company went public in 1995 on the NASDAQ exchange.
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 the most successful celebrity doll line of all time at that point.
He was formerly the founder and past-president of Play Along, the Florida based toy company that was sold in 2004 and is now a wholly owned division of Jakks Pacific (NASDAQ:JAKK). He co-founded Play Along in 1999 where he managed all aspects of marketing, product development and sourcing for the company. Product lines he conceived and/or developed include Cabbage Patch Kids,[1] 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. The Hannah Montana toy line is the biggest celebrity themed toy line in the history of the toy industry. The company’s sales peaked at $240mm annually in 2007 and was recognized with several toy and licensing industry achievement awards.
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 Play-Faces pillow, and he has produced over forty TV commercials that promoted Play Along's toy lines selling over $1B worth of toys to such retailers as Wal-Mart, Target and Toys R Us.
In addition to his role at Play Along, Foreman serves as board member of the License Merchandise Marketing Association (LIMA) and currently serves on the board of the Toy Industry Association, as well as its charity foundation the TIF. He is also on the board of the Florence Fuller Child Development Centers and is on the Advisors Board of The Pine Crest School in Boca Raton, FL.