Executive Committee

Gerald L. Storch

Chairman and CEO,
Toys"R"Us, Inc.

Gerald L. Storch joined Toys“R”Us, Inc. in February 2006 as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  In this capacity, he is responsible for leveraging the strength of the Toys“R”Us brand and positioning the global franchise for growth over the long term.  

Under his leadership, the company has embraced a “Playing to Win” culture and a commitment to growing its position as THE toy and baby products authority.  Mr. Storch has successfully led efforts to integrate the company’s toy and baby businesses, an initiative that has included the creation, development and execution of the Side-by-Side store concept, which combines Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us under one roof.  He has also overseen the continued growth of the Toysrus.com e-commerce business and, in 2009, added to the company’s portfolio of online brands with the acquisitions of eToys.com, KB Toys, and Toys.com.  That same year, he led the company in obtaining the exclusive right to own and operate the legendary FAO Schwarz brand and its website, FAO.com.  Additionally, Mr. Storch introduced the Toys“R”Us Express store concept, opening pop-up stores in malls and other shopping centers nationwide, to increase the company’s toy-selling footprint during the important holiday shopping season. 

Mr. Storch has led the company in its strategic focus to provide customers with a differentiated product assortment working with branded manufacturers and by building upon its own exclusive brands business. He has also made international growth a key part of the company’s overall business strategy, acquiring a majority stake in its previously licensed business in Southeast Asia and Greater China and opening its first store in Poland in 2011.

A retail veteran with more than 22 years of experience, Mr. Storch is an industry leader and respected advocate for children’s safety.  He has called for the harmonization of product safety standards around the world and internally established the Toys“R”Us Global Product Safety Policy Committee and Product Safety Response Team with responsibility for staying ahead of emerging product safety issues and responding to them with urgency.  In addition, he has mandated strict, industry-leading product safety standards for all products sold in “R”Us stores worldwide.

Prior to joining Toys“R”Us, Inc., Mr. Storch served as Vice Chairman of Target Corporation.  He joined Target in 1993 as Senior Vice President of Strategy and served in roles of increasing seniority over the next 12 years.  While at Target, his broad responsibilities included overall strategy, supply chain, the Target.com business, technology services, financial services, guest relationship management and market research, the six sigma program and mergers and acquisitions.  He was also instrumental in developing the Super Target concept and growing the company’s grocery business.  Additionally, Mr. Storch was involved in developing strategies and overseeing execution for Target Corporation’s department store portfolio, including leading the turnaround at Marshall Field’s and the subsequent sales of Marshall Field’s and Mervyn’s.  Prior to joining Target, Mr. Storch was a partner at McKinsey & Company, specializing in retail and financial services.

Mr. Storch holds a bachelor’s, a Juris Doctor and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard University. He serves on the Board of Directors for Toys“R”Us, Inc. and Toys“R”Us-Delaware, Inc., as well as the Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund.  Mr. Storch is also an active member of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP). In 2008, Mr. Storch was honored by the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC) for his work helping children in need. He is also a committee member of the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI). In addition, in January 2012, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, a global biopharmaceutical company, where he serves as a member of the Audit Committee and the Compensation and Management Development Committee.

Monika Merz

President
Toys"R"Us, Asia Pacific

As President, Toys“R”Us, Asia Pacific, Monika Merz oversees all operations and business activities for the company’s growing number of stores in Japan, Southeast Asia, Greater China and Australia. In this role, she is responsible for the continued growth, profitability and success of the company in these markets. Ms. Merz leads a team of talented executives in asserting the company’s position as the world’s leading dedicated toy and juvenile products retailer.

Ms. Merz joined the company in 1996 as Vice President and General Manager, Toys“R”Us, Canada.  She served in this role until 2000, when she was promoted to President, Toys“R”Us, Canada, Ltd. In this capacity, she introduced the company’s first integrated Side-by-Side store format, which combines Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores under one roof.  Today, these convenient, one-stop shopping destinations have opened in countries throughout the world.  

In November 2007, Ms. Merz assumed leadership of Toys“R”Us, Japan, which was a publicly traded company on the Jasdaq until the late Spring of2010.  She is currently leading the successful integration and growth of the toy and juvenile products businesses in this country. With nearly 170 Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores, Japan represents the largest number of wholly owned stores in the company’s international portfolio. In 2011, Ms. Merz’s role was expanded to include responsibility for the company’s nearly 40 stores in Australia. And, later that year, Ms. Merz gained oversight of the company’s 90 locations  and corporate offices in Southeast Asia and Greater China when the company entered a joint venture agreement with Li & Fung to operate these formerly licensed stores.

Ms. Merz has a strong background in the retail industry.  Prior to joining Toys“R”Us, she held various roles in merchandising, store operations, supply chain and marketing with several companies, including Hudson’s Bay Company, Costco, as well as a specialty clothing chain and a catalog retailer. 

Ms. Merz serves as a member of the Toys“R”Us, Inc. Global Product Safety Policy Committee, which is responsible for staying ahead of emerging product safety issues and responding to them with urgency.  She previously served on the Board of the Starlight Children’s Foundation in Canada.  Ms. Merz also servedas the Vice Chair of the Retail Council of Canada and headed the Government Relations Committee for Retailers for the Retail Council of Canada. In addition, in 2011 Ms. Merz was honored with the 2011 Dale Carnegie International Leadership Award for outstanding leadership in human resources development.

Ms. Merz is a Canadian citizen and earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Guelph in the province of Ontario.

Antonio Urcelay

President,
Toys“R”Us, Europe

As President, Toys“R”Us, Europe, Antonio Urcelay oversees the business activities of more than 300 Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores across Europe. In this role, he is responsible for the continued growth and success of the company in eight European countries: the United Kingdom, Austria, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.  He leads a team of talented executives in asserting the company’s global status as THE toy and juvenile products authority through marketing, merchandising, e-commerce, store operations and customer service excellence. 

Over the course of his 15-year tenure with Toys“R”Us, Mr. Urcelay has been given roles of increasing responsibility for the company’s European business.  Before assuming his current role, he held positions, including Managing Director, Iberia (Spain and Portugal); President, Southern Europe; and President, Continental Europe. In 2011, Mr. Urcelay led the company’s market entry into Poland, providinga potential gateway for further growth in Europe.  

Prior to joining Toys“R”Us in 1996, Mr. Urcelay spent the majority of his career working in retail and the consumer packaged goods industry.  Most recently, he served as Managing Director, Leche Pascual S.A., a Spanish dairy company.  Earlier, Mr. Urcelay spent 11 years as the head of the Spanish division for a British-owned supermarket chain, becoming a member of the Board of Directors of its parent company, the Ashley Group.  Prior to that, Mr. Urcelay spent six years at the Dutch supermarket chain Royal Ahold, where he held various leadership positions, including Managing Director of the Spanish market.  He also served as a marketing manager for the Spanish subsidiary of Procter & Gamble.  In the earliest stage of his career, Mr. Urcelay spent five years practicing law at the international law firm Cremades, where he became a partner.

Mr. Urcelay earned his Juris Doctor from the Madrid-Complutense University.  He currently serves as a member of the Toys“R”Us, Inc. Global Product Safety Policy Committee.  In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors of AECOC-GS1 Spain, an association of more than 25,000 companies in the consumer goods markets.

Dan Caspersen

Executive Vice President, Human Resources
Toys"R"Us, Inc.

Dan Caspersen was appointed Executive Vice President, Human Resources, Toys“R”Us, Inc. in May 2006.  In this capacity, Mr. Caspersen oversees global Human Resources for 70,000 employees across the company’s corporate and regional offices and more than 1,600 stores.  In this role, Mr. Caspersen provides leadership for all Human Resources functions, including staffing, employee relations, training, development, compensation and benefits execution.  In addition, he has responsibility for the area of Corporate Communications.

Prior to joining Toys“R”Us, Inc., Mr. Caspersen spent 25 years at Target Corporation, where he held the position of Vice President, Human Resources.  In this role, Mr. Caspersen was responsible for 290,000 hourly staff members in 1,500 stores and 11,000 corporate executives.  During his tenure there, Mr. Caspersen also spent seven years as Senior Vice President, Human Resources for Mervyn’s, a division of Target Corporation.

Mr. Caspersen holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s in industrial relations from the University of Minnesota.  He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund.

Clay Creasey

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Toys"R"Us, Inc.

Clay Creasey joined Toys“R”Us, Inc. in May 2006 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.  Mr. Creasey is an integral part of the executive team working to leverage the company’s leadership position as the toy and baby authority in the U.S. and abroad.  

Mr. Creasey joined Toys“R”Us, Inc. with 25 years of financial management experience in the retail industry.  He began his retail career at Lucky Stores, a large, public grocery, where he spent 11 years in various corporate and division financial roles.  More recently, he spent 13 years at Mervyn’s, a subsidiary of Target Corporation, where he served as their Chief Financial Officer for five years.  He also spent one year as the financial head of Zoom Systems, a San Francisco-based start-up company in the automated retail sector.  During his career, Mr. Creasey has been involved with several corporate and operational restructurings and financial turnarounds.
 
Before entering the retail sector, Mr. Creasey spent two years as an Actuarial Analyst at Fireman’s Fund and six years as a Corporate Lending Officer with Crocker Bank.

Mr. Creasey holds a bachelor’s degree and a Masters of Business Administration from Stanford University.  He also is a Certified Public Accountant.

David J. Schwartz

Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary
Toys"R"Us, Inc.

As Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Toys“R”Us, Inc., David Schwartz is responsible for all legal and regulatory affairs within the company and serves as the Corporate Secretary to the boards of Toys“R”Us, Inc. and its subsidiaries.  Mr. Schwartz oversees a team of attorneys who perform numerous legal functions in a variety of practice areas, including real estate, employment and labor, intellectual property, litigation, regulatory compliance and securities.  He also manages the company’s international licensed store operations and leads its global Safety and Quality Assurance program as Chairman of the Global Product Safety Policy Committee.

Mr. Schwartz joined Toys“R”Us, Inc. in 2001 as Vice President, Corporate Counsel, and was promoted to Deputy General Counsel in 2002.  In this role, he became responsible for managing the organization’s legal department.  Mr. Schwartz was named Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in 2003, and in 2008, was appointed to the Executive Committee.   He subsequently assumed responsibility for the organization’s Safety and Quality Assurance program.  Mr. Schwartz was promoted to Executive Vice President in 2009.

Prior to joining Toys“R”Us, Inc., Mr. Schwartz was a corporate partner at Anderson, Kill & Olick, P.C., where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions and the formation of private investment funds.

Mr. Schwartz holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Duke University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and a Masters of Business Administration from Columbia University Business School. 

Mr. Schwartz serves as a Director on the Boards of Directors of the Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund and Toys“R”Us, Japan Ltd.