For Kristi Zhang (’14), every day at work involves a healthy dose of fun.
Zhang is the global marketing manager of LEGO Friends, a franchise within the multinational toy company the LEGO Group. Based in Billund, Denmark, she collaborates with marketing executives to develop and implement strategies to bring children joy with LEGO sets.
The girls-oriented LEGO Friends product line was introduced in 2012 with five female characters and interaction-based play sets. Since then, the franchise has steered toward a more inclusive representation of physical characteristics, cultures, and interests.
“LEGO Friends is unique in that it’s relationship-based,” says Zhang. “It reflects real-life friendship experiences and differing passions that kids have.”
Zhang credits Baruch with providing the foundation to discover her career passions. Originally an accounting major, she says that her aspirations came into focus when she took the Advertising 101 elective.
“It drew me into the world of advertising and marketing—kind of like Mad Men style,” she laughs. “I realized how much I enjoy the creative side of things.”
After earning a marketing management degree, Zhang joined Hearst Magazines’ digital advertising division, where she promoted beauty and lifestyle brands across the company’s 22-magazine portfolio. Working closely with marketing and brand managers—many with MBA degrees—motivated her to pursue an MBA in marketing management at Northeastern University.
Through a corporate residency program, she worked for the toy giant Hasbro, which started her path in the toy industry. After completing her MBA, she became the associate brand manager at the LEGO Group.
“Growing up in Brooklyn, my brother and I built LEGO sets and created worlds together. Of all the toy brands, they’ve always been a leader in fostering creative play,” she says, adding that the company’s name is an abbreviation of two Danish words, leg godt, which means ‘play well.’
A former competitive swimmer, Zhang sees parallels between the LEGO Group’s corporate values and the lessons she learned on Baruch’s women’s swimming and diving team.
“To bring something to life, teamwork is critical,” she notes. “It may sound cheesy, but success really takes everyone coming together, supporting each other, and celebrating the unique strengths and differences we bring to the team.”
— Sally Fay