Turning Mattel around was not child's play for CEO Ynon Kreiz

This Is Working with Daniel Roth

When Ynon Kreiz took over as CEO of Mattel, he became the company's fourth chief executive in four years. His three predecessors had all resigned. The storied, 80-year-old toy company was still a top brand, but it was fraying at the edges and it needed a fresh start, some new ideas, and someone who was willing to take some risks.

Already a board member and a three-time CEO "drawn to perhaps maybe more complicated, more challenging situations," Kreiz had a brainstorm: Customers aren't really customers — they're fans. If you have enough of them, you have an audience. And playing to an audience is very different from manufacturing widgets.

So he took his big gamble. "The company should transition from being a toy manufacturing company that was making items and become an IP company that is managing franchises," Kreiz told Dan Roth on the latest edition of This is Working.

Perhaps the Barbie movie is the most visible manifestation of Kreiz's vision for Mattel. But there is so much more in Dan Roth's interview for This is Working: How he hires, fires and reassigns, and his three chief management principles: collaboration, innovation, and execution