WORLD’S LARGEST TOY AND GAME INVENTOR CONFERENCE RETURNS TO CHICAGO DURING CHITAG 2018

NEW “PLAY IN EDUCATION” TRACK HEADLINES THE TWO-DAY EVENT FOR INDUSTRY VETERANS AND NEWCOMERS

CHICAGO, IL (October 16, 2018) – The Chicago Toy and Game Group has revealed the 2018 schedule and speaker lineup for the annual ChiTAG Inventor Conference that kicks-off Chicago Toy and Game Week (ChiTAG) November 15-18. The largest of its kind, ChiTAG’s inventor conferences are a multifaceted professional development forum within the toy and game industry and inventor community, complete with unrivaled opportunities for education, pitching ideas, collaboration, trend discovery and more.

Registration is now open for the following conference tracks:

• International New Inventors and New Business Track

• International Professional Inventors Track

• International Product Acquisition Executive Track

• NEW THIS YEAR Design Student Track

• NEW THIS YEAR Play in Education (PIE) Track in partnership with the Illinois Institute of Technology. In addition to great content, participants will receive transferable continuing education credits.

Each conference track includes access to luminary keynote speakers. And for 2018, ChiTAG new inventor conference attendees will also have the opportunity to hear Tips from the ToyBox where top professional inventors share their secrets of success in just one minute. The current schedule of keynote speakers includes:

• Karri Bean, Senior Manager, Lego at Disney Consumer Products

• Tanya Thompson, Director Global Product Acquisition and Inventor Relations for Gaming, Hasbro

• Tim Walsh, Fearless Leader at The Playmakers

• Dr. Kelly Page, Chief Innovation Officer, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

• David L. Hoyt, “The Man Who Puzzles America” as the world’s most-syndicated daily word game creator

• Phil Sage, Senior Director - Design & Development, iPlay at Hasbro

• Krissa Watry, Founder, Dynepic

• Catherine McMillen-Gill, President, McGill and Associates

• Gene Murtha, Executive Solutions

• Ryan deChance, Discovery Director - The Grommet

• Katherine McHenry, Owner, Building Blocks Toy Stores

• Carle Wunderlich, President, WunderReps

• Rob Yusim, President, Product Counsel

• Matt Nuccio, President, Design Edge

• Manish Kumar, Global EVP Consumer Goods, Geo Chem Middle East

• Megan Hinterman Kanous, Business Development Manager, PSI

• Richard Gill, CEO, McGill and Associates

The ChiTAG Inventor Conference offers both students and industry professionals the opportunity to pitch toy, game or app prototypes, products, ideas, and even capstone projects to dozens of companies including Hasbro, Spin Master, Mattel, LEGO, Jakks Pacific, Pressman Toy, Goliath Games, PlayMonster, Playmobil, Asmodee, ThinkFun, Outset Media, USAopoly, Fat Brain Toys, Identity Games USA and Netherlands, ​Buffalo Games, Mindware, Peaceable Kingdom, Product Counsel, Int'l Playthings, Gamewright , Educational Insights, Canal Toys, entertoyment, IMC, Innovation First/Hexbug, Jumbo/Diset, Lansay, Martinex Oy, Ooba Toys, Plow and Hearth, Radio Flyer, Thames and Kosmos, US Playing Cards, University Games, What Do You Meme?, Winning Moves, EPOCH Everlasting Play, Stomp Rocket, The Canadian Group (TCG), Bananagrams, Oy Marektoy, Brain Games, Blue Orange, YULU and more!

“The ChiTAG Inventor Conference is a must for anyone in the toy and game industry,” says Mary Couzin, CEO and Founder of the Chicago Toy and Game Group. “The professional development, pitching and networking is incredible. Executives come from around world ready to engage for the benefit of everyone involved.”

The conferences are held on November 15 and November 16, 2018 at Navy Pier. Both days kick off with breakfast at 8 A.M. with speakers and sessions beginning at 9 A.M. and running though 10 P.M. Central Time.

For more information about ChiTAG or the New Inventor & Business Conferences visit www.chitag.com/conferences.

About the Chicago Toy & Game Group, Inc.

The Chicago Toy & Game Group, Inc. promotes and hosts initiatives designed to encourage and promote the power of play and invention in social, educational, and professional environments. Chicago Toy & Game Group initiatives include the Chicago Toy & Game Fair (ChiTAG), the Toy & Game Innovation Awards (the TAGIEs), Inventor Conferences for New and Professional Inventors and Product Acquisition Executives, the Young Inventor Challenge, the Young TECH Challenge, Play in Education Conference, Discover Games Inventor Co-op, the PlayCHIC Fashion Show, and the Chicago Toy & Game Foundation. For more information, visit www.ChiTAG.com.