Barbie’s got a new boss, and she’s bringing major Internet marketing chops to Mattel Inc.
Margaret “Margo” H. Georgiadis was named Tuesday as the new Chief Executive Officer of the world’s biggest toymaker.
Georgiadis, who previously served as chief operations officer at Groupon and then, until this year, as president, Americas, at Google Inc., will also join Mattel’s Board of Directors.
While Mattel sells a wide range of goodies for kids across the world, it’s perhaps best known for its Barbie doll and the host of related products for the icon of little girls since 1959.
Georgiadis will succeed Christopher A. Sinclair as CEO. Sinclair, who has led the company as Chairman and CEO since early 2015, joined Mattel’s Board in 1996 and has served previously as Independent Lead Director and Chair of the executive and audit committees. In his next assignment, he will serve as Executive Chairman of the Board.
“Over the last two years, with the help of all of our colleagues around the world, we have dramatically transformed Mattel — reenergizing our creative culture, restoring excitement to our iconic brand portfolio and delivering on our vision to make Mattel the recognized leader in play, learning and development worldwide,” he said.
“I could not be more proud of the organization and what it has accomplished, or more excited about the company’s future with Margo Georgiadis as our CEO. Margo is a proven and extraordinarily talented executive with a deep understanding of how to build and scale brands on a global basis and expertise in effectively engaging consumers and retail partners in a rapidly evolving digital world.”
Georgiadis responded by saying that “inspiring children through play and creativity is crucial to early development and no company has done more in that space over many generations than Mattel. As a parent, I have seen this first hand and am honored to be joining the Company at this exciting time of renewed focus.
I look forward to working with the incredibly talented people at Mattel as we build on recent momentum, leverage the unique creativity and passion that exists within Mattel to inspire future generations of children, and deliver on our promises to shareholders.”
—City News Service