Marvin Greenberg, the founder of CDI, worked in the toy industry for several years. During those years he held several different positions and gained a well-rounded perspective of the trade. In 1979, he decided to venture out on his own to fulfill what he perceived to be a void in the marketplace – girls’ toys other than dolls.

After travelling to Hong Kong and tapping his resources, Marvin Greenberg started his first line with 3 or 4 items, an artist to design the packaging, and a sales manager to help market the products. Over the next few years he increased his product line in the Girls’ Role Play category. During this stage, Marvin’s ability to wear many hats really paid off. He designed all the toys himself, transacted all the sales and served as CFO.

In its early years, Creative Designs International was a true bare-bones operation. Marvin worked from home, in a little room that held little more than a desk, a telephone and a typewriter. Communications with Hong Kong were conducted via a Telex machine.

In 1985 CDI began to produce toys under brand licenses. Adult household products were reproduced in smaller, toy versions of themselves. The first toys CDI produced under license were toy kitchen appliances under the Black and Decker and Dirt Devil brands.

The company continued to grow – and so did the family. In 1994, Geoffrey Greenberg joined the company. He came in strong and demonstrated a real knack for the business. Geoffrey envisioned the future, and it was all about licensed toys. He leveraged his father’s contacts and forged new relationships to the benefit of Creative Designs. Shortly after Geoffrey joined the company, CDI signed license agreements with Disney, (to produce toys under the Disney Princess brand) and with Mattel, (to produce toys under the Barbie brand). Several more came after that. Geoffrey Greenberg became president of the company.

In 2006, CDI was acquired by JAKKS Pacific, Inc., a multi-brand company that designs and markets a broad range of toys and consumer products. Speaking about the acquisition, Geoffrey Greenberg has said: "JAKKS Pacific provides us with a base and solid infrastructure that will help us grow our business in a way that would not have been possible on our own. Our family has worked hard to build CDI and we're thrilled to bring our products under the JAKKS Pacific umbrella."

Nowadays, Marvin is retired, though occasionally seen around the office. Geoffrey, being a true jack-of-all-trades, spends his days reviewing new toy concepts, negotiating with licensors and buyers, participating in the product development process, and most importantly…playing with toys.