Mattel CEO to Head Firm’s Board

Mattel Inc. President and Chief Executive Jill Elikann Barad, one of only two women to head a Fortune 500 company, will succeed John W. Amerman as chairman of Mattel’s board of directors, the toy maker said Wednesday.

Barad, 46, made her mark at Mattel by leading the effort that helped the Barbie doll achieve astronomical sales growth. She was named president and chief executive of Mattel in January.

Amerman, who has retired as chairman but will remain a director, called her “an intelligent and visionary CEO” who has helped boost sales and brand recognition worldwide. He said Barad deserved “full credit” for successfully joining the operations of Tyco Toys to Mattel’s after a recent merger.

“Jill is an exceptionally talented leader who has played a crucial role” in Mattel’s growth, said Amerman, who served as Mattel’s chairman and chief executive from 1987 to 1996. He noted that Barbie doll sales have grown from $200 million, when Barad joined the company in 1981, to $1.7 billion in 1996.

He credited her handling of the Mattel-Tyco merger with “bolstering the company’s strategic position through the addition of brands such as Sesame Street, Matchbox and Tyco.”

Barad’s first job with Mattel was as a product manager, and she was named marketing director for the Barbie doll brand in 1982. She was promoted to president of Mattel USA in 1990 and to president and chief operating officer in 1992. She was elected to the Mattel board of directors in 1991.

Barad is a member of the board of directors of Microsoft Corp. and Pixar Animation Studios. She graduated from New York’s Queens College in 1973 with bachelor’s degrees in English and psychology.