Hasbro VP/Licensing for North America MICHELLE MICONE has been hired as the NFL’s new Senior VP/Consumer Products. In perhaps the most talked-about job opening this year in sports licensing, the NFL has been looking for a new consumer products chief since April, when LEO KANE left the league after 23 years. The position will continue to report to CHRIS HALPIN, who earlier this year added the title of Chief Strategy Officer to Senior VP/Licensing & Consumer Products. Micone’s last day at Hasbro is today, and she will start at the league by mid-October. She will direct NFL consumer products strategy, retail marketing and business development. Micone has been at Hasbro since ‘01, serving in a variety of marketing roles. As head of licensing at Hasbro, she oversaw brands including Nerf, Transformers, Monopoly and My Little Pony. She was responsible for more than 225 licensees, along with retail development, sales and category management for a variety of licensed products, including HBA, apparel, and publishing. Prior to Hasbro, Micone worked at Disney Consumer Products and P&G, along with licensees Bandai, and Tiger Electronics. Micone’s hiring continues the NFL’s penchant of employing women to fill key exec roles -- a trend which started after the high-profile domestic abuse incidents involving RAY RICE and others in ‘14. While some sources expressed surprise that an exec with primarily hard lines (non-apparel) licensing experience got the job, Halpin said Micone’s expertise is broad based. “Michelle’s background in licensing, marketing, managing brands, understanding product development and her ability to think strategically about where the industry is heading won us over,” he said. “She’ll build with the strong team we have and find new ways to grow the business.”
