Rachele Harmuth

Rachele Harmuth is a veteran toy industry executive currently serving as the Chief Product Officer at CrunchLabs, the STEM-focused innovation company founded by YouTube creator Mark Rober. With over 30 years of experience, Harmuth is a primary architect of the "content-to-commerce" revolution, leading CrunchLabs’ 2026 expansion from a subscription-based startup into an enterprise positioned to become a retail powerhouse. Her current initiatives include orchestrating a worldwide retail launch with Moose Toys and Games, a first-of-its-kind STEM book series with Scholastic, and a highly anticipated competition series on Netflix. Her career is defined by a rare "bilingual" expertise, having held senior leadership roles at legacy giants like Ravensburger (Head of ThinkFun), Scholastic, and K’NEX before mastering the fast-paced agility of the creator economy.

Beyond her corporate success, Harmuth is a globally recognized advocate for children’s mental health and the founder of MESH Helps, a nonprofit dedicated to building resilience through play. She spearheaded the industry-first MESH Accreditation Program, which evaluates toys for their ability to develop Mental, Emotional, and Social Health skills—a framework that has been adopted by major retailers like Amazon. Her transformative work in addressing the youth mental health crisis earned her the prestigious 2025 Women in Toys (WiT) Wonder Woman Award in the "Catalyst for Change" category, cementing her status as a visionary leader who uses play as a tool for social impact.

A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with a background in Industrial and Theatrical Design, Harmuth brings a unique "WOW to HOW" philosophy to product development, emphasizing cinematic engagement to make complex learning stick. Known for her "Here we go!!" mantra, she is a sought-after mentor and thought leader who has successfully mobilized cross-industry alliances involving Google, T-Mobile, and Rivian. Her career-long dedication to building not just products, but the people and standards around them, makes her a defining figure in the "Future of Play" and a formidable force in the global toy and entertainment landscape.