The Reformer
Changing the system from inside it, principle turned into change.
Ynon Kreiz reads as The Reformer because he inherited a Mattel in genuine crisis and chose redesign over demolition. He restructured operations with discipline and cut costs without dismantling the brand architecture, then converted that hard-won stability into creative reinvention. The Barbie film, which transformed a struggling toy line into a global cultural event, is the visible proof.
“Well, we are releasing next year in 2026 two big movies, Masses of the Universe, a big world creation superhero franchise that we are launching as a big movie in partnership with Amazon MGM. And right after that, a movie based on Matchbox, the cars together with Skydance.”
“Well, at the start of the year, the issue was about cost impact of tariff on product. Then the question became, what about consumer reaction to price increase in response to tariff? Now what we're seeing is that companies have mitigated for the cost impact.”
“We work very closely with our retail partners. We are fundamentally a business-to-business company. We sell to the retailers, they sell to the consumers. But together, we are trying to create a holistic experience that drives demand, and we work with them to help them sell products. We spend significant resources on demand creation.”
“You went into that. He had a small production company in Los Angeles. We ended up creating a joint venture with Fox that was called Fox Kids, or Fox Family at the time. I moved to London to build the European business.”
The David Rubenstein Show: “Ynon Kreiz”
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