Mattel’s board of directors has appointed Ynon Kreiz as the chief executive officer, effective April 26. Ynon had served as one of the company’s directors since June 2017.
Kreiz succeeds Margo Georgiadis, who became Mattel’s CEO in February 2017. Georgiadis will stay on in an advisory role at Mattel through May 10, and is stepping down to pursue a new opportunity in the technology sector. Kreiz will also become Chairman of the Board following an election scheduled for May 17.
Kreiz aims to build on the company’s “existing strategy” and continue to “aggressively implement a transformation plan” with a goal to “restore Mattel to a high-performing toy company, the company said in an official statement.
Prior to joining Mattel, Kreiz served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Maker Studios, a global digital and content network company and division of The Walt Disney Company, as well as the chairman and chief executive officer of Endemol Group. Before that, he was serving as the general partner at Balderton Capital.
Prior, during the early time of his career, he co-founded and served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Fox Kids Europe.
“Ynon has tremendous expertise across areas critical to our strategy, including digital, media and entertainment, and we have already benefited from that experience and his compelling vision for the company since he became a director,” Christopher Sinclair, executive chairman and former chief executive officer, Mattel was quoted as saying from Global License.
Mattel’s well-known brands include Barbie, American Girl, Fisher-Price, and Hot Wheels. The El Segundo, Calif.-based company has suffered financial declines over the last several years. As of December 31, 2017, Mattel had a total of 28,000 employees down 12.5% from 32,000 a year earlier.
