ELIZABETH GRUENE
GENERAL MANAGER
COLLECTORS HOLDINGS INC.
WHY: Head of expanding pop culture category at collectible grading business in Santa Ana, which has increased from 60,000 SF in 2019 to nearly 287,000 SF at Pacific Center office complex.
IN THE NEWS: Pokémon trading cards are now company’s No. 1 category of items being graded, making up 34% of submissions; Collectors grades around 1.2M cards per month companywide.
NOTABLE: Previously head of product management for Amazon Canada; Gruene was promoted to GM position less than a year after being hired, now heading newly formed pop culture division.
QUOTABLE: “A lot of my role and my team’s and the things we’re working on are all brand-new within the last year, and it’s exciting to build the playbook for pop culture.”
