Mattel names Kreiz non-exec chairman

US toy giant Mattel has named former Maker Studios and Endemol Group CEO Ynon Kreiz as non-executive chairman of its board of directors.

Ynon Kreiz

A director of Mattel since June 2017, Kreiz succeeds Christopher A Sinclair, executive chairman of the Mattel board and former CEO of Mattel. Sinclair announced his intention to retire at the end of his term last year.

Kreiz has more than two decades of experience in the media and entertainment industries, having previously served chairman and CEO of Maker, which was acquired by Disney in 2014.

He left in late 2015 having joined Maker in June 2012 as chairman. Before that he was CEO and chairman and Endemol Group and co-founder, chairman and CEO of pay TV network Fox Kids Europe, which was acquired by Disney in 2001.

Kreiz also serves on the board of directors at Warner Music Group and is a member of the board of advisors of the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

“Over the past several months, the board has benefitted immensely from Ynon’s deep expertise across digital, media and entertainment. Ynon has cutting-edge perspective on areas essential to our transformation strategy, giving the board full confidence that he is the right person to succeed Chris as chairman at this critical juncture in Mattel’s history,” said Michael J Dolan, independent lead director of the Mattel board.

“Ynon’s thought leadership is instrumental to helping us unlock the value of our incredible global IP portfolio and deepen our consumer engagement for a digital age,” added Margo Georgiadis, CEO of Mattel.

Mattel’s content division, Mattel Creations, develops content based on Mattel’s portfolio of brands, which includes American Girl, Barbie, Fisher-Price, Hot Wheels and Thomas & Friends.