• by Sarah Mahoney , Yesterday

Mattel has named Roger Lynch, already a board member and currently CEO of Condé Nast, as its next leader, replacing Ynon Kreiz. The news comes just after Paramount -- days away from closing its megamerger with Warner Brothers Discovery -- poached Kreiz as co-CEO of the new company.

Lynch has led Condé Nast since 2019 and has also been CEO of Pandora, Sling, Video Networks International, and Chello Broadband. He is expected to take the helm in early November.

Condé Nast revenue in 2025 was reportedly $2 billion, with 85% coming from its seven largest brands. Mattel has annual sales of $5.35 billion.

While the news was abrupt and Mattel’s stock initially declined, some observers are welcoming the change at the toy giant and hoping Lynch will bring a needed change in direction.

“While Kreiz is set to leave to pursue another opportunity, we think the leadership change is overdue,” writes Jaime Katz, an analyst who follows Mattel for Morningstar. “Kreiz's strategy to establish Mattel as an IP-driven, high-performing toy company has largely fallen flat,” she notes, adding that for the five-year period ending in 2026, she forecasts aggregate sales will grow just 2%.

Lynch has been on Mattel’s board since 2018, which she says may indicate he will continue to support Kreiz's strategies. “Our hope is that his media and technology background allows for an accelerated execution of the digital, publishing, and other engagement efforts, bolstering profitability,” she writes.

At Condé Nast, Lynch spent his time trying to turn the fading magazine dynasty into a profitable portfolio of global brands, amid a radically changed media landscape. For old media watchers, that period has been heartbreaking. In “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” one of the year’s biggest movies, Miranda Priestly -- a thinly veiled version of Vogue editor Anna Wintour – describes the Condé Nast-like company depicted in the film as “just the last piece of wood floating next to the Titanic."

The new media crowd -- and doubtless Mattel watchers -- see it differently. Lynch brought Condé Nast’s global businesses together and expanded the consumer and events businesses. In his outgoing memo, Lynch pointed to those successes: “Since 2020, revenue from commerce grew by 170%, digital subscriptions by 155%, and U.S. tentpole events increased ninefold.”

At Paramount, Kreiz will dive headlong into the new-media maelstrom. In its announcement, Paramount says CEO David Ellison and Kreiz “will lead the anticipated combined company as one team,” with Kreiz focusing on day-to-day management and integrating the combined businesses.

The deal is valued at about $111 billion, and the newly combined company is projected to have $69 billion in revenue this year.