Ynon Kreiz, the chief executive who turned Mattel into an entertainment and intellectual-property powerhouse behind the Barbie film franchise, has been appointed co-CEO of Paramount Skydance. The move, made by billionaire heir David Ellison, places Kreiz in charge of day-to-day operations and the integration of Paramount's $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The appointment may seem unconventional for a man best known for overseeing toy brands such as Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Fisher-Price. But it fits a career defined by taking chances on unconventional people and ideas, a philosophy Kreiz has articulated in settings ranging from corporate boardrooms to university commencement stages.
Speaking last spring at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, Kreiz recounted how he hired a barista he met at a local cafe where he often worked on weekends. He had noticed the man's efficiency and engagement with customers. When Kreiz looked up from his laptop one day and asked where he was from, the barista told him he was an Iranian refugee who had left his family at 21, camped in Turkey for three years to obtain a U.S. visa, and arrived in America alone. He held a computer science degree and had taught himself English, but his resume listed only barista and server work.
Kreiz said the man's determination mattered more than his credentials. He introduced him to Mattel, which brought him on as an intern. The former barista became one of the company's highest performers and now works full-time on Mattel's global technology team. Kreiz used the story to urge graduates to prioritize human connection. «Look up and make eye contact,» he said. «In the world of Zoom, working from home, and agentic AI, personal interactions and casual conversations are more important than ever.»
Kreiz's path to the top of American media spans three decades. He grew up in a middle-class family in Israel, completed mandatory military service, and earned an economics and management degree from Tel Aviv University before an MBA from UCLA's Anderson School of Management in 1993. In Los Angeles he met media mogul Haim Saban, who then ran a children's television company. The relationship launched Kreiz's media career. The two founded Fox Kids Europe, which Kreiz ran from London before selling it to Disney in 2002. He later led Endemol, the Dutch producer behind Big Brother, and moved into venture capital.
In 2012 Kreiz became CEO of Maker Studios, a struggling user-generated video producer that was nearly out of cash. Four years later he sold it to Disney for $500 million. He joined Mattel's board in 2016 and became CEO in 2018, taking over after the toy giant had cycled through four chief executives in four years.
At Mattel, Kreiz sought to transform the 81-year-old toy manufacturer into an entertainment and intellectual-property company built around franchises and fans. His biggest and riskiest bet was turning Barbie into a feature film. The script that reached his inbox portrayed Mattel in unflattering terms, calling its flagship brand fascist and depicting the company as the worst in corporate America, with the CEO as a chauvinist buffoon. Kreiz said yes anyway, backing director Greta Gerwig and star Margot Robbie rather than forcing the project into an existing Hollywood formula.
The result was 2023's highest-grossing film and still Warner Bros.' biggest movie ever. Mattel said its Barbie business benefited from the film's success, with Barbie doll sales rising 16% in the third quarter of 2023. That track record may be part of why Ellison tapped Kreiz to help lead Paramount's integration with Warner Bros. In his message to students, Kreiz framed the lesson more broadly: «Don't be afraid to break conventions. Not every good idea has a comp. If you're looking for precedents, you will not be the one sending them.»