Alex
Welch

Alex Welch is a Senior Advisor to Grey Matter Direct. Ned Barrett and Alex both worked at Mattel Toys but just missed meeting each other by a few months. Alex was a Senior Vice President in charge of Matchbox Cars and many other lines at the Tyco Toys division in Moorestown, New Jersey. Ned Barrett took over parts of Alex’s role when he joined Mattel Toys and took over responsibility for worldwide marketing of Matchbox Collectibles. They would only meet later when Alex hired Ned’s company to assist in the marketing of Corgi Die Cast when the Corgi U.S. operation was headquartered in Chicago.

Ned Barrett and Grey Matter Direct owe a great debt of gratitude to Alex for all of his assistance throughout the years. It was Alex who introduced us to Jerry Calabrese and Mark Erikson at Lionel Train where we worked for years on marketing their line of classic toy trains and NASCAR die cast race cars. Alex also secured our account with Backyard Expressions and many other important clients.

Alex’s background is quite impressive. He received an ROTC scholarship and attended Tufts University to study history. After graduating, his service in the Marine Corps brought him to the Defense Language Institute in California where he learned the Indonesian, Korean and Vietnamese languages. Alex was then stationed on the USS Intrepid for exercises off the coast of Canada, the DMZ in Korea, and ultimately to Vietnam. The Marine Corps was in many ways his core, the centrifugal force for brotherhood and friendship, and the subject of many a great tale told often late into the night.

After Vietnam, he continued to chart an explorer’s course, raising a family and frequently moving around the world, living in Jakarta, Singapore and Melbourne working for companies like Gillette, L’Oreal, Alcoa, Richardson-Vicks and Hasbro Toys.