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ABOUT US
Discover the power of play.
Almost 10 years later, we have expanded our product line eightfold, earned glowing press coverage around the world, and inspired medical researchers to conduct research and publish peer-reviewed findings that support the effectiveness of our products.
OUR HISTORY
Fun and games… and strong fundamentals
In 2015, a team at Hasbro was challenged to explore new markets and channels. Grounded in the belief that play knows no age limit, products fostering meaningful connections through play, joy, and happiness could have a positive impact—especially for older adults—and Joy for All was born.
Based on consumer insights, market research, and feedback from older adults and their families, the team saw opportunities to expand the joy of pet ownership through interactive Companion Pets.
Designed with extensive input from older adults, Joy for All launched in December 2015. Caregiver testimonials poured in, validating the companion pet cat’s positive effect on isolation, loneliness, and cognitive decline for older adults.
Following the initial success of the cat, the companion pet pup was introduced in 2016. As the product line expanded, so did coverage from news outlets, journals, popular TV shows, and influencers, which drove over 2 billion media impressions in two years.
In April of 2018, the Joy for All leadership team left Hasbro and founded Ageless Innovation, successfully executing a friendly spin-out acquisition of the Joy for All brand and business.
Joy for All earned industry awards, and reviews praised Joy for All pets’ unique ability to enhance meaningful connections, provide companionship, soothe, and delight.
In 2022, building off the success of the previous Companion Pets, Ageless Innovation introduced a new feathered friend to the family.
Invented by 93-year-old Rita Melone, the Walker Squawker made its way to market to provide interactive companionship in the form of a bird, while also creating more positive experiences for older adults using mobility aids.
Hasbro selects Ageless Innovation as their first-ever licensee to focus 100% on the aging market. In the first year of their partnership, Joy for All launched three popular game titles reimagined for older adults; Scrabble BINGO, Trivial Pursuit Generations, and Game of Life Generations.
OUR PEOPLE
Say Hello!
Everything is more fun when you get to play with great people.
With a team like this, sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between work and play!
Ted
Fischer
CEO
Ted has spent his 30-year career building, working with and leading collaborative teams committed to achieving positive financial and social impact. As CEO of Ageless Innovation, Ted is focused on accelerating the growth and impact of the JOY FOR ALL brand, that he and his former Hasbro team spun out and acquired from Hasbro in 2018. He joined Hasbro in 2015 as Vice President of Business Development to help lead the identification and execution of new growth platforms, focused on the Health and Wellness space. Ted and his team launched the JOY FOR ALL brand in 2015 and continue the exciting work focused on unleashing the power of play to positively impact the lives of older adults and their families.
Ted holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College double majoring in Economics and Philosophy. He is also a graduate of the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School, later serving as chair of the HBS Global Alumni Board. He serves on numerous nonprofit boards.
Ted will proudly share that his greatest accomplishments are his 34-year marriage to his wife Lisa and their three adult children and one grandchild.
In his spare time, Ted’s competitive nature comes out in the many physical fitness activities he participates (and sweats) in. He recently finished his 11th Boston Marathon and has run a marathon with each of his 3 children.
Andrew
Jeas
COO
Prior to co-founding Ageless Innovation, Andrew spent over 15 years leading teams at Hasbro across many domains, including research, invention, ideation, design, development, sourcing, manufacture, testing, marketing, and strategy.
Andrew is a guest lecturer and team mentor at MIT, a mentor at YearUp Providence, a volunteer at the Pawtucket Soup Kitchen, a member of Leadership 100, and involved in mentoring and advising numerous entrepreneurial ventures.
Meghan
Gamboa
CMO
Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Meghan leads the company’s multifaceted global marketing strategy.
A lifelong believer in the power of play, Meghan spent 15 years marketing the world’s most iconic toy and entertainment brands for Hasbro.
Jim
Murphy
SVP, Healthcare
With over 25 years of experience in marketing, Jim leads Ageless Innovation’s business with healthcare organizations and CMS-related grant programs, expanding Ageless Innovation’s footprint as an approved nontraditional intervention for older adults who are lonely, socially isolated or living with cognitive impairment, such as all forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
Prior to Ageless Innovation, Jim was VP of Innovation at UnitedHealthcare, leading projects in caregiving, diabetes prevention, fall prevention, social isolation/loneliness, Alzheimer’s/dementia support, advance care planning, and Medicare education and decision support, and he serves on the board of the National Alliance for Caregiving.
Dan
Gipson
CFO
An experienced financial executive with expertise in global brand management, new business development, and corporate strategy, Dan has a long history of building great teams, establishing and executing best-in-class brand strategies, and driving operational excellence.
He has led long-term strategic growth for a wide range of highly respected brands, including Saucony, Tommy Hilfiger, Greg Norman, Arthur Anderson, and more.
Celica
Costantino
VP, Retail
A seasoned sales expert with over two decades in the toy and game industry, Celica Costantino brings a passion for creating engaging experiences through play and a deep understanding of its transformative power. Throughout her career, she has consistently driven strategic growth and developed successful sales teams.
Most recently, Celica served as Senior National Sales Manager at Funko, LLC, a billion-dollar pop culture brand known for its collectible figurines across hundreds of licenses. Her experience leading sales at major companies like Hasbro (where she collaborated with the Joy for All team) has honed her understanding of consumer needs and the evolving retail landscape.
OUR BOARD
Champions of Joy!
Dedicated to enhancing the lives of older adults, our board members bring vision, expertise, and heart.
Edmund
Hajim
Ed Hajim has over 50 years of experience in the financial industry. Including Past Chairman of High Vista Strategies LLC, now Sr. Advisor. Chairman and CEO of ING Aeltus Group and ING Furman Selz Asset Management, Chairman of ING Barings, Americas Region, Chairman and CEO of Furman Selz, as well as senior management positions with Lehman Brothers, E. F. Hutton, and The Capital Group. He has also managed hedge funds and hedge fund companies.
Mr. Hajim is the Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of The University of Rochester and presently serves on the Boards of the Ocean Reef Foundation, Nantucket Golf Club, where he is a founder and Lead Director, the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, and the Horatio Alger Association. Ed is also a past President of the Harvard Business School Alumni Association and has been actively involved in a number of charitable boards in the educational, medical, arts, and environmental fields, including serving as Chairman of The Board of Trustees of The Brunswick School from 1980 to 1983.
In 2015, he received the Horatio Alger award, an award honoring the achievements of outstanding Americans who have succeeded despite adversity and to emphasize the importance of higher education. Most recently, Mr. Hajim is the author of The Island Of The Four P’s: A modern fable about preparing for your future. Proceeded by his memoir, On The Road Less Traveled: An Unlikely Journey From the Orphanage to the Boardroom, which tells of his life experience from childhood to present day.
Ed holds a BS in chemical engineering from the University of Rochester and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. He and his wife, Barbara, have been married for 59 years. Together they have three children, Corey, G.B., and Brad, and eight grandchildren.
Tom
Riley
Tom Riley has led several technology-enabled healthcare services businesses over forty years. Most recently he was the CEO at Boston-based Seniorlink (now Careforth), an organization that provides family caregivers with education, support and case management for seniors with complex medical needs. That Company was sold to Thomas H. Lee Partners in July, 2020 and Tom remains a Director of the Company. Currently, Tom is an Operating Partner for Tiger Infrastructure Partners, where he serves on the Boards of two of its portfolio companies—International Aerospace Coatings and Strategic Venue Partners. Tom remains active with philanthropic causes and, recently, Tom rejoined the Board of Trustees for St. Johns Preparatory School in Danvers, MA.
Tom has always enjoyed the game of golf and is delighted that his grandsons are now actively involved in the sport.
Meghan
FitzGerald
Meg is a global healthcare strategist, investor, academic and author. She has worked in every domain of healthcare from front line patient care through the Fortune 500 while serving as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University. She is one of the few executives who has worked for a pharma company, PBM, distributor and provider covering the entire GDP of healthcare. Currently Meg is an investor where she serves as a senior advisor to several firms including Goldman Sachs while running her healthcare growth investment firm Grey Ghost Capital.
Prior to this Meg spent twenty years in Corporate America working for many prominent healthcare companies. She was the EVP of Strategy, M&A and Health Policy at Cardinal Health (CAH) and a member of the executive committee. Before she was the President of Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions, one of the fastest growing businesses where her team took an underperforming division from $700mm USD to over $8BUSD in four years. Meg was the SVP of New Markets and Business Development at Medco Health Solutions (MHS). She previously held positions in strategy and marketing at top companies including Pfizer, Merck and Sanofi-Synthelabo.
Currently Meg is a member of the board of directors at Tenet Healthcare (THC) a leading Fortune 200healthcare services company and a founder of K2HealthVentures a life science investment fund ($1.4B AUM). She is also the founder of Grey Ghost Capital ($50mm AUM) making equity investments into several healthcare unicorns (HIMS, ALTO).
Meg obtained a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) at New York Medical College, focusing on health policy and the social determinants of health. She earned a Master of Public Health from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Nursing from Fairfield University and recently became an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). Currently, Meg teaches strategy and “The Business of Healthcare” at Columbia University in New York. Her book “Ascending Davos: A career journey from the emergency room to the board room” was launched in 2020.
Meg is a lifelong runner, extreme sports enthusiast, and mixed martial arts fan. She resides in Naples Florida and Martha’s Vineyard with her husband and Weimaraner.
Ted
Fischer
Chairman
Ted Fischer also serves as CEO of Ageless Innovation. Learn more about his leadership above.
What guides us
Our Core Beliefs
We believe
play has no age limit.
We believe
play fosters joy and social connections as we live and age together.
We believe
in the power of play to improve health and well-being.
We believe
play has the power to improve quality of life for older adults and their families.
We believe
in interventions that include play and technology for meaningful positive outcomes.
Our Behaviors + Values
Fun
We approach everything we do with a playful, warm and positive spirit.
Integrity
We are truthful, reliable and genuine in our conversations, relationships and partnerships.
Innovation
We are committed to continuous learning and human-centered design in crafting meaningful products and experiences.
Inclusion
We engage each other with compassion, embrace diversity and inclusion and celebrate aging gracefully.
Empathy
We continuously listen, learn and explore new ways to support people and communities as we live and age together.
Drive
We expect that our team will perform at the highest level in all that we do. We will adhere to a “whatever it takes” mentality to ensure we amplify our impact.
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
The facts about fun..
Extensive research has illustrated the significant impacts associated with social isolation/loneliness and dementia—and surprising solutions.
Loneliness increases risk
Chronic loneliness and social isolation are as bad for one’s health as smoking a pack of day. Not only do a wide range of markers respond negatively to loneliness—things like blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar levels, and more—social isolation has been shown to increase morbidity and mortality.
Our Joy for All Companion Pets have been the subject of rigorous, peer-reviewed studies that demonstrate their efficacy alleviating many of the effects of loneliness and social isolation.
We are pleased to share these independent studies to support decision-makers as they consider using our high-impact/low-cost, evidence-based products to improve people’s lives.
Robotic Pet Therapy Improves Outcomes for Hospitalized Older Adults
Effects of a Robotic Cat on Agitation and Quality of Life in Individuals with Dementia in a Long-Term Care Facility
New Approaches for the Treatment of Delirium: A Case for Robotic Pets
LEARN MORE
