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.
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 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.
Mr. Kreiz said his experience at Mattel had prepared him to help oversee the trove of characters and stories owned by both Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. The combined company will own characters from Harry Potter, superheroes from DC Comics and the crew of the Enterprise from “Star Trek.” The announcement on Wednesday came just minutes after a judge approved a settlement resolving an antitrust lawsuit against Paramount, the last hurdle for Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
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