With a baby on one shoulder and a phone on the other, Lisa Marie Bongiovanni, VP of corporate communications and government affairs at Mattel, assisted the company during its 2007 global toy recall and her own maternity leave.

“I spent many conference calls changing a diaper and burping a baby,” she notes, “I felt so invested in the company... I couldn't imagine not participating.”

A nine-year Mattel veteran, Bongiovanni has oversight of stakeholder relations and the Mattel Children's ...