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Lego's Kristiansen heading to Hall of Fame

By Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 10/31/2007 7:58:00 AM

NEW YORK—Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, Lego Group's principal owner and grandson of the construction toy company’s founder, will be the 2008 Toy Industry Hall of Fame inductee, the Toy Industry Association announced today.

Kristiansen currently serves as Lego’s vice chairman of the board, a position he has held since 2004 when he stepped down as CEO after 15 years in the role. Today, he also serves as chairman of KIRKBI A/S, Lego Holding A/S and the Lego Foundation. Additionally, he is an active member of Lego’s Brand & Innovation Board, setting the overall strategic direction of the Lego brand and the development of new business ideas.

Kristiansen’s most notable accomplishments at Lego center on additions to the company’s core building system that go beyond bricks to enhance the role-play and educational elements of Lego’s products. Those moves include introducing figures to the company’s building sets in 1978, Lego's collaboration with MIT to develop Lego Mindstorms in 1998 and its entrance into property licensing in 1999 with its deal for Star Wars rights.

“Lego revolutionized the way kids play and build with blocks,” said Alan Hassenfeld, Toy Industry Hall of Fame Committee Chairman. “We are honored to have Kjeld join many other industry icons in the Toy Hall of Fame.”

Kristiansen’s contributions to children's creativity and entertainment have been recognized previously. In 1994, he was appointed a Knight of Denmark's Dannebrog Order. In 1996, he received The Freedom Prize from the Max Schmidheiny Foundation, Switzerland, the "Distinguished Family Business Award" from the International Institute for Management and Development, Switzerland, and the Moran (Peony) insignia of the Order of Civil Merit by the Korean Government.

The ceremony inducting Kristiansen will take place as part of the eighth annual T.O.T.Y. (Toy of the Year) Awards on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008, in New York City.

Lego founder Ole Kirk Christiansen was elected to the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in 1989.

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