Alec Tam
Alec Tam is a Director on the Hot Wheels® design team. He oversees the team’s vehicle toy lines that include basic cars, adult collector and trend, as well as provides a supporting role in the development of automotive aftermarket products. He has helped design and develop several cars from the basic car line, such as Buzz Bomb™ and Zotik®, and a few products from the innovation toys including the Power Rev™ moto
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Most recently, Tam has overseen the development of the Hot Wheels® Designer’s Challenge™ product line for 2008. The Designer’s Challenge™ marks the first time that Mattel has turned outside the company to solicit designs for an original Hot Wheels® car. The program was created as a way for Hot Wheels® to honor its automotive partners and have them actively participate in the brand’s 40th anniversary celebration by creating a new product line. Tam also participated in the judging panel to determine what designs will be produced as part of this product line. Automotive brands participating in the Designer’s Challenge™ program include: Dodge, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Lotus and Mitsubishi.
Tam comes from a family of designers. His father, Paul Tam, was a Hot Wheels® designer in the 1970s. Following in his footsteps, Alec joined the Hot Wheels® design team and paid tribute to his father by designing an updated version of a basic car – the Whip Creamer® – that his father originally designed.
Since joining Mattel in 2000, he has held various positions within the company, including one with the boys licensing creative team, only to return to Hot Wheels® in 2005 to embrace the position of senior manager.
Prior to Mattel, Tam worked at GT Bicycles as a senior designer. After receiving a scholarship from the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) in 1990, Tam attended and graduated from the Art Center College of Design with a Bachelor of Science in Transportation Design.
Tam hopes to be a part of creating Hot Wheels® products that impact kids now the way the original line did in 1968.