Mattel Chief Named Co-C.E.O. of Combined Paramount and Warner Bros.

David Ellison, the media mogul on the verge of adding Warner Bros.Discovery to Paramount, said on Wednesday that he had tapped Ynon Kreiz, the chief executive of Mattel, as his co-chief executive of the combined company.Mr.

Kreiz, 60, will be responsible for overseeing the company’s day-to-day operations while Mr.Ellison will remain chairman and the chief executive in charge of the company’s strategy, films and TV shows, and technology, Paramount said in a news release.“When you look at Ynon’s background and mine, and what we have accomplished, I think we’re really well positioned to win together,” Mr.

Ellison said in a joint interview with Mr.Kreiz on Wednesday.Hollywood is not new for Mr.

Kreiz, who previously worked at Fox Kids and the digital video platform Maker Studios.He also served as chief executive of Endemol Group, an independent television production company and owner of such franchises as “Big Brother.”At Mattel, which he joined in 2018, he spent years working to transform Barbie, the company’s iconic doll, into a movie.

The resulting picture, starring Margot Robbie in the title role and directed by Greta Gerwig, was a hit in 2023, ultimately bringing in nearly $1.45 billion at the global box office.But some of the company’s attempts to turn toys into movies have not fared as well.“Masters of the Universe,” this year’s live-action film featuring Mattel’s He-Man, took in about $114 million globally.

Arpine Kocharian, an analyst at UBS, said in a note on Wednesday that Mr.Kreiz’s departure added “a layer of uncertainty to an already skittish investor sentiment” about Mattel.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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