The Scoop
Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz is joining David Ellison’s team at the combined Warner Bros. Discovery-Paramount in a senior leadership role, a big poach for Ellison and a signal of more expansive ambitions from the combined studio.
Kreiz’s remit and title haven’t yet been determined, according to people familiar with the matter. Kreiz didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A Paramount spokesperson wasn’t available for comment.
“I am proud of all we have achieved together,” he said in a press release on Wednesday announcing his departure, which sent shares in the toy company down 4%.
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Kreiz joined Mattel as CEO in 2018, helping turn the toymaker into an intellectual-property licensing machine. “People who buy our products, they’re not just consumers, they are fans,” Kreiz told Semafor in a 2023 interview. “And once you have a lot of fans, it’s an audience. And when you have an audience, it changes the opportunity that you have in front of you.”
Roger Lynch, CEO of Vogue parent Conde Nast and Mattel’s lead independent director, will take over as CEO of Mattel in November.
Lynch, who didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, said he was “honored by the board’s confidence in me and couldn’t be more excited to lead the incredible team at Mattel.”
Rohan’s view
Ellison has a growing bench of operators to turn to — and he will need them. The combined Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount need both a new name (CNN reported that a decision on that could come as soon as tomorrow) and to start moving immediately to whittle down the company’s leviathan $52 billion debt pile.
Kreiz should be able to help. He worked to get Mattel financially fit before he turned it into a Barbie-backed movie studio; RedBird’s Gerry Cardinale and his bench of operating partners, including former CNN boss Jeff Zucker, will also be there to help clean up the company’s balance sheet.
But more importantly, Kreiz and Lynch’s hirings also showcase the need to refashion the company as one that focuses on intellectual property, rather than increasingly commoditized media.
Lynch helped Vogue monetize the Met Gala — a physical thing — into an ecosystem of events, content, and buzz. Kreiz did much the same with Barbie dolls to kickstart what is effectively a new movie studio (although we’re still waiting on the Barney movie.) Content, after all, as Bill Gates wrote 30 years ago, is king.