Dive Brief:
- Mattel has named Roger Lynch as its chairman and CEO, according to a Wednesday announcement. Lynch comes to the toy company from Condé Nast, where he has been CEO since 2019.
- Lynch is currently a board member and independent lead director at Mattel. He will take on the chairman role on Friday and become CEO on or before Nov. 2.
- Current CEO Ynon Kreiz will step down as chairman and CEO as of Friday to take a senior leadership position at another public company, per the release.
Dive Insight:
After a succession planning process, Mattel has chosen one of its board members to lead its next chapter of growth.
Lynch has been with Mattel’s board since 2018. Prior to his time as chief executive of Condé Nast, Lynch was the CEO of streaming service Pandora and the founding CEO of Sling TV.
In its announcement, Mattel emphasized Lynch’s past experience unifying global operations and leveraging intellectual property monetization for different brands.
Under Kreiz’s leadership, Mattel accelerated its efforts to move from being just a toy manufacturer to becoming a company that is focused on its IP. Mattel has also been pushing efforts to extend physical play into virtual worlds, and this summer announced the launch of Mattel Game Studios.
Lynch will receive a base pay of $2.3 million and will be eligible for an incentive plan award of 200% of his base pay, not to exceed 400%. Lynch will also receive a cash signing bonus of $10.6 million, a restricted stock unit award of $6 million and a relocation allowance of $985,000, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company’s current chief legal officer and secretary, Jonathan Anschell, will serve as interim principal executive officer effective Friday, until Lynch comes on as chief executive. Anschell will continue to serve in his current role while also taking on interim responsibilities.
Mattel also announced that current board member Diana Ferguson is its new independent lead director.
In its latest earnings, Mattel reported net sales were up 10% year over year to $1.1 billion. The company reported a Q2 net loss of $18 million, compared to a net income of $53 million in the year-ago period, and reiterated its full-year guidance, with net sales expected to go up between 3% and 6%.
