Brian Chapman

BA 1992, Industrial Design

Head, Design and Development, Hasbro Toy Group
Pawtucket, RI

After graduation, Brian Chapman designed, crafted and sold primitive jewelry. He then began his professional
career at Kenner Products, a division of Hasbro, Inc. in Cincinnati in November of 1992 as a toy designer. Chapman worked on developing toys for Batman, Star Wars, GI-Joe, Harley Davidson, Jurassic Park, Pokemon, Beyblade and Transformers. He developed television shows such as Transformers Robots in Disguise, Transformers Armada, Transformers Animated, Transformers Prime, Zoids Chaotic Century, and DVDs GI-Joe: Valor vs Venom, and GI-Joe: Spy Troops.

In 2001, Chapman moved to Hasbro’s corporate office in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. At this time, Hasbro’s vision was to move from a Toy and Game company to a “Branded Play” company. Chapman’s career progressed from leading toy development for one division, to now leading all of Global Design, including gaming, toy, story development, and futuring. He has developed play experiences for Playdoh, Playskool, Sesame Street, Tonka, Littlest Pet Shop, My Little Pony, Clue, Risk, Magic the Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, Monopoly, Game of Life, Nerf and many more. He has helped develop all of Hasbro’s motion pictures, including Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, GI-Joe and Battleship.

Chapman was born in the small town of Perrysville, IN. He accredits his strong work ethic, “can do” attitude and creative spirit to growing up in the rural Midwest, his mother’s focus on education, his father’s belief in self-reliance and his grandfather’s ability to fabricate and repair farm equipment. It was at Purdue that Chapman first began to blend the creative arts with science, design thinking with engineering, and nurtured his ability to harness both right and left brain thinking. Chapman completed the Hasbro Tuck Executive Program at Dartmouth in 2007.

Chapman is the foremost authority in organically building great play experiences into world leading entertainment. He is a proven change leader, constantly evolving his organization to meet the needs of the company and the consumer. His organization is aligned around his three pillars of design: developing a Creative Culture, Driving Innovation and Un-locking the power of Story. Chapman currently leads creative organizations in Canada, China, the United Kingdom and the United States. His vision has positioned Hasbro as a “World Leading Creative Powerhouse for Play!”

Chapman is interested in all things that involve creative problem solving. From period home restoration and gardening to custom motorcycle building and classic car restoration. He also plays basketball and golf and enjoys camping, hiking and canoeing. Chapman currently resides in Blackstone, Massachusetts with his family and volunteers in his community as a Boy Scout Leader and youth baseball coach.