A Ring for Barbie

Today is Barbie’s 40th birthday, and to mark the occasion, Barbie creator and Mattel Inc. co-founder Ruth Handler is ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

El Segundo-based Mattel swears the date was set a full year ago and has nothing to do with its management shake-up last week. But it can’t hurt to be available for talks with Wall Street the week after announcing the restructuring, which included the resignations of Bruce Stein, Mattel’s No. 2 executive, and Gary Baughman, head of the company’s Fisher-Price unit.

Adding a light touch to the event will be the appearance of a live “Barbie” model and the unrolling of a pink carpet.

Mattel Chairwoman Jill Barad was originally scheduled to attend but had to cancel due to illness.