Mattel CEO Kreiz quits; Condé Nast's Roger Lynch takes over with $33.6 million in sign-on awards
Ynon Kreiz is leaving for an unnamed public company. Mattel's filing shows only about a third of Lynch's one-time and first-year awards depend on performance, and the stock fell 3.5% before the open.
Mattel chairman and chief executive Ynon Kreiz has resigned, effective October 2, to take a senior leadership position at another public company, which Mattel did not name. Board member Roger Lynch, the chief executive of Condé Nast since 2019, becomes chairman on October 2 and CEO no later than November 2, the toymaker said in a release filed with the SEC Wednesday. Director Diana Ferguson becomes independent lead director. The Wall Street Journal also reported the change.
Lynch, 63, has been on Mattel's board since 2018. He previously ran Pandora and was the founding CEO of Sling TV, according to the 8-K. Kreiz led Mattel for eight years, a period that included the Barbie film and a return to an investment-grade credit rating, the company said.
Investors did not like the surprise. MAT traded at $12.76 at 8:52 a.m. Eastern, down 3.5% from Tuesday's $13.22 close, according to Nasdaq. That is at the bottom of its 52-week range of $12.73 to $22.48, for a market value of about $3.6 billion.
What the offer letter pays
The offer letter, filed as an exhibit, sets a $2.3 million base salary and a target bonus of 200% of salary starting in 2027. On top of that come the one-time and first-year awards:
| Award | Value | Tied to performance? |
|---|---|---|
| Make-whole cash signing bonus, paid by Dec. 31, 2026 | $10,600,000 | No |
| 2026 annual equity award (60% performance units, 40% restricted units) | $10,000,000 | $6.0 million of it |
| Make-whole restricted stock units, fully vested at grant | $6,000,000 | No |
| Inducement performance units, three-year test | $6,000,000 | Yes |
| Relocation allowance | $985,000 | No |
| Total | $33,585,000 | $12.0 million |
The make-whole pieces replace the Condé Nast bonus and long-term awards Lynch gives up by leaving. That is standard practice, and they carry clawbacks: the cash bonus is repayable if he quits without good reason or is fired for cause before the end of 2027, and the vested stock units are repayable in full in the first year and half in the second.
The number behind the number is how little of the package depends on the stock. By our count, $12 million of the $33.6 million, about 36%, is performance-based. The $6 million inducement award vests only if Mattel's total shareholder return over three years ranks at or above the 55th percentile of the S&P 500. The rest is cash or stock with no performance target attached. Together, the awards equal about 0.9% of Mattel's current market value.
What we're watching
Where Kreiz is going. Mattel said only that it is "another public company." Also watch whether Lynch keeps Kreiz's strategy of turning toy brands into films, games and licensing, which fits his media background, or makes changes when he starts in November. With Mattel near its 52-week low, the three-year shareholder-return test on his inducement award starts from a low base.
Sources: Mattel Form 8-K, offer letter and press release via SEC EDGAR; Nasdaq; The Wall Street Journal. Totals and shares are our calculations. This is market information, not investment advice.
Want your business to be the answer?
Get a full package of articles about your business, built so customers, Google and AI assistants can find you.