Chris Byrne
As an independent toy analyst, researcher and consultant, Chris brings more than 30 years of industry experience in the toy industry to his role as a teacher for this year’s Dust or Magic.
He’s an expert on toys and play in the culture and brings his extensive knowledge of toys, education and child development to his work.
He led the team that established the game Pictionary as one of the most popular games of its era. In 1988, he formed Byrne Communications, with broad-based consulting in the toy, children’s entertainment, financial and consumer products industries. He was one of the founders and creative director for the web site TTPM. Today, Byrne Communications works with companies of all sizes and entrepreneurs, helping them to develop and launch products. He consults regular to the analyst and investment community about the international business of toys.
He is the creator, producer and co-host with another industry veteran, Richard Gottlieb, of The Playground Podcast, an industry-facing, weekly program that covers a broad range of issues facing the contemporary toy industry.
Chris is also widely published on the topic of toys and family life and his work has appeared in a variety of trade magazines, journals and websites. He is also featured in the Netflix series, The Toys That Made Us as a toy historian, and will be featured in an upcoming series on toys from National Geographic.
His book on the most popular toys from the 1950s to the 1980s, Toy Time gives the background on some of the all-time classic toys. He is also the author of An Introduction to the U.S. Toy Industry: Serious Fun, published by Business Experts Press, which is used as an introductory textbook for students studying the toy business.
Chris is extensively quoted in the media and appears regularly on local and national television commenting on toys and demonstrating new products. He appears regularly on “Live! With Kelly & Ryan,” and has been seen on “Marie” with Marie Osmond, “Oprah, “Soap Talk,” “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” “The CBS Evening News,” “ABC Nightly News,” “Fox & Friends,” “CBS This Morning,” “Good Day New York,” CNBC, CNNfn, MSNBC, ABC, “The Motley Fool,” National Public Radio, Bloomberg Television and Radio, and on countless other national and local market business and consumer programs and publications in the U.S. and internationally.