Sharon John (, born January 29, 1964) is an American businessperson, public speaker, author, podcast host and executive producer as well as the President and CEO of

Build-A-Bear Workshop Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is an American retailer headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri that sells teddy bears and other stuffed animals and characters. Customers go through an interactive process in which the stuffed animal of their choice ...

(NYSE:BBW).

Education

John graduated with honors from the

University of Tennessee Knoxville The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

in 1986 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

(BS) Degree. She has received the Heilman Award as a distinguished alumnus of the College of Communications and the Torchbearer Award as a distinguished alumnus of the university. In 2016, she was recognized by the university as one of the top 100 graduates of the last 100 years to commemorate the centennial celebration of the university's Torchbearer Magazine. She holds a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accou ...

(MBA) from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

(1994) with an emphasis on international business.

Career

John's career began in the advertising industry with various agencies. Starting in 1989 in New York City, she worked at

DDB Worldwide DDB Worldwide Communications Group LLC, known internationally as DDB, is a worldwide marketing communications network. It is owned by Omnicom Group, one of the world's largest advertising holding companies. The international advertising networks ...

. She then worked at Bates USA until 1991 as an Account Supervisor. After receiving her MBA, John held a range of senior management positions in the toy industry. She spent seven years at

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

(NYSE: HAS) in roles including the General Manager and Senior Vice President of Global Preschool (inclusive of

Playskool Playskool is an American company that produces educational toys and games for children. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and is headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. History The Playskool Institute was established by Lucille King in 1928 ...

and

Play-Doh Play-Doh is a modeling compound for young children to make arts and crafts projects at home. The product was first manufactured in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, as a wallpaper cleaner in the 1930s. Play-Doh was then reworked and marketed to Ci ...

) and as the General Manager and Senior Vice President for the U.S. Toy Division. During her tenure, she oversaw an array of brands, including

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms ...

Nerf Nerf is a toy brand formed by Parker Brothers and currently owned by Hasbro. Most of the toys are a variety of foam-based weaponry, with other Nerf products including balls for sports such as American football, basketball, and baseball. ...

, Littlest Pet Shop, and

My Little Pony ''My Little Pony'' (''MLP'') is a toy line and media franchise developed by American toy company Hasbro. The first toys were developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger, and Steve D'Aguanno, and were produced in 1981. The ponies feature ...

, while managing licensing relationships such as

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

and

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

. John served as the President of the

Stride Rite Stride Rite, formerly the Stride Rite Corporation and stylized in all lowercase, is an American children's footwear company. The company markets Stride Rite products globally through brand licensee Vida Shoes International. History Founding a ...

Children's Group LLC (SRCG) at

Wolverine World Wide Wolverine World Wide, Inc. or Wolverine Worldwide, is a publicly traded American footwear manufacturer based in Rockford, Michigan. The shoemaker is known for its eponymous brand, Wolverine Boots and Shoes, as well as other brands, such as Hush ...

(NYSE: WWW) from 2010 to 2013. John has been president and CEO of Build-A-Bear since 2013. In 2018, Build-A-Bear gained over one billion media impressions in a single day spurred by the "Pay Your Age Day" promotion. The following day, John discussed the event on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

Today (American TV program) ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

. In 2020, Build-A-Bear experienced the COVID-induced forced closure of all physical retail locations. In 2021, Build-A-Bear Workshop delivered the most profitable year in its history.

Other business ventures

John has served as a member of the board of directors for

Jack in the Box Jack in the Box is an American fast-food restaurant chain founded February 21, 1951, by Robert O. Peterson (1916–1994) in San Diego, California, where it is headquartered. The chain has over 2,200 locations, primarily serving the West Coas ...

(NASDAQ:JACK) since 2014. Other toy industry experience includes serving as the Vice President of Product Development and Marketing at the U.S. Division of Vtech Toys as well as working in business units for both the

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiratio ...

brand and the Disney licensing division at

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

(NYSE: MAT) for over 5 years. In her role in Disney business, John served as the Director of European Marketing in Paris, France which led to her becoming the Vice President of International Marketing for the Disney licensing division upon her return in 1998.

Public appearances

John has participated in national media interviews. Select engagements include:

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

with IDEAGEN,

Salesforce Salesforce, Inc. is an American Cloud computing, cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides customer relationship management (CRM) software and applications focused on sales, customer service, marketi ...

Dreamforce keynote and panel, Shoptalk keynote, Best Places to Work Conference keynote, Women in Retail Leadership Summit keynote,

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and is one of the oldest busin ...

address, and University of Tennessee College of Communications Commencement. John is part of the Fortune "Most Powerful Women" (MPW) organization, a member of

The Committee of 200 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

(C200), and engaged in the Women Corporate Directors (WCD) group. John has also been a contributing writer to Fortune.

Books

John's first book is titled ''Stories and Heart: Unlock the Power of Personal Stories to Create a Life You Love''. The book launched on January 17, 2023. John is the host of a podcast inspired by her book, also entitled ''Stories & Heart: Unlock the Power of Personal Stories to Create a Life You Love''. The podcast is created and produced in conjunction with Forbes Books.

TV and film

Accomplishments and recognition

* "Wonder Woman of Toys" from Women in Toys (WIT) 2009 * Fortune, Most Powerful Women; "MPW Insider" contributing writer 2014/15 * CEO Magazine, Transformative CEO of the Year 2020 & 2022 * Retail Today, Top 50 Outstanding Women in Retail 2022

Personal life

John lives in St. Louis with her husband and three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:John, Sharon Price Living people 1964 births University of Tennessee alumni American women in business American women writers