Mattel CEO to Retire, Successor Named
Toy maker Mattel Inc. announced that Chief Executive Officer Robert Eckert will retire at the end of the year.
Eckert, 57, who has led Mattel for 11 years, will be replaced Jan. 1, 2012, by Chief Operating Officer Bryan G. Stockton, 58.
Eckert will remain chairman. Before he came to Mattel in 2000, he was president and CEO at Kraft Foods Inc.
Stockton has "been a key architect behind Mattel's rapid international growth and has also helped to shape many of the company's recent growth initiatives," said Christopher Sinclair, an independent director and leader of Mattel's board.
Mattel, the largest U.S. toy company, reported in October that its third-quarter net income rose 6 percent, thanks partly to strong sales of its Barbie line and "Cars 2"-related toys.
Its profit matched Wall Street estimates, but its gross margin — the share of revenue that a company keeps as profit and to cover expenses beyond the cost of the goods it sells — was pressured by higher costs and the strengthening U.S. dollar.
Eckert, 57, who has led Mattel for 11 years, will be replaced Jan. 1, 2012, by Chief Operating Officer Bryan G. Stockton, 58.
Eckert will remain chairman. Before he came to Mattel in 2000, he was president and CEO at Kraft Foods Inc.
Stockton has "been a key architect behind Mattel's rapid international growth and has also helped to shape many of the company's recent growth initiatives," said Christopher Sinclair, an independent director and leader of Mattel's board.
Mattel, the largest U.S. toy company, reported in October that its third-quarter net income rose 6 percent, thanks partly to strong sales of its Barbie line and "Cars 2"-related toys.
Its profit matched Wall Street estimates, but its gross margin — the share of revenue that a company keeps as profit and to cover expenses beyond the cost of the goods it sells — was pressured by higher costs and the strengthening U.S. dollar.