Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz Joins David Ellison's Merged Paramount-Warner Bros.

Ynon Kreiz will step down as Mattel's chairman and CEO on Oct. 2 and take a senior leadership role at David Ellison's Paramount, the company that is closing in on its $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, according to two industry sources cited by Variety.

Mattel announced Kreiz's departure on Wednesday, saying he is leaving "to take a senior leadership position at another public company." The toy company did not name the destination. Roger Lynch, CEO of Condé Nast, will succeed Kreiz at Mattel.

What role will Kreiz play at Paramount-Warner Bros.?

The specific position Kreiz will hold at the merged Paramount-Warner Bros. could not be ascertained, Variety reports. One source close to the situation described the move as "another ace up Ellison's sleeve" and said Ellison's courtship of Kreiz has been in the works for months.

Reps for Paramount could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson for Mattel declined to comment. Variety has reached out to Kreiz himself.

Kreiz leaves Mattel after eight years with a record the company frames in hard numbers. Mattel credited him with growing market share to No. 1 globally across key toy categories:

• Dolls
• Vehicles
• Infant, toddler and preschool segments

His tenure also spans Mattel Studios' first theatrical release, "Barbie," starring Margot Robbie. Directed by Greta Gerwig's studio partner Warner Bros. Pictures, the film topped the global box office in 2023 and remains Warner Bros. Pictures' highest-grossing movie of all time — a detail that ties Kreiz's résumé directly to the company he is now joining.

Who is Ynon Kreiz?

Kreiz is a veteran media executive whose career long predates the toy aisle. He co-founded Fox Kids Europe, where he served as chairman and CEO. His subsequent posts include:

• General partner at Balderton Capital (formerly Benchmark Capital Europe), 2005-07
• Chairman and CEO of Endemol Group, 2008-11
• Chairman and CEO of Maker Studios, the YouTube-oriented digital network Disney acquired in 2014
• Chairman and CEO of Mattel, from 2018

Kreiz exited Disney in 2016 and joined Mattel two years later.

How is the merged company's leadership taking shape?

Kreiz is not the only senior figure slotting into the combined Paramount-WBD structure. Casey Bloys, head of WBD's HBO, is poised to assume oversight of the merged company's streaming business, Variety reports. His expanded remit follows Cindy Holland's announcement on Tuesday that she is stepping down from her role running Paramount+ and other direct-to-consumer operations.

The leadership reshuffle comes as Paramount awaits the final obstacle before closing the Warner Bros. Discovery merger: a judge's approval of the company's settlement in an antitrust lawsuit brought by 12 state attorneys general. The judge said last Thursday she would rule on the proposed consent decree in "due course."

Once that ruling lands, Ellison's assembled executive bench — Bloys on streaming, Kreiz in a still-unnamed senior role — will face the task of integrating two Hollywood institutions whose combined value the merger pegs at $111 billion.