Nothings been announced officially yet, but everyone's assuming that they'll eventually name JA as MA's successor. It only makes sense, no single person has had a bigger impact on FP design than JA, not even MZ. My guess would be his current Creative Director title would be absorbed into a SVP tile, but I guess his day to day job wouldn't change much.
17 replies (most recent on top)
"You could have spoken up, started an online petition" okay you got me I loled.
Yup. MZ is like a rat leaving the ship as its sinking. He and his cronies were a useless addition to what was once a great place to work. He added ZERO value to the business other than traipsing around like the queen mother and sneering at the bumpkins. EA will be a ghost town in 5 years but lets not lay all the blame on MZ. The rest of you lemmings could have spoken up, started an online petition to out BS, CS, MGO and every other BOD that was a useless waste of space. You want to hate someone, MZ is an easy pompous target along with the other transplants that have invaded EA, but your real hatred should be at your reflection for doing nothing.
Folks:
EA is getting ready to be sold, that’s why all posters have a piece of the truth. Just look at the advertising budgets of MATTEL brands over the last 5 years - all have been reduced, except for Barbie (HW lost Monster Jam because they never advertised in the crucial fall season). Barbie is the only Brand that shows growth in POS (but still is declining in overall size) because it has ALL of Mattel’s advertising budget. Even HW got kicked to the curb ( all the 50th Anniversary cars are just redecos - ho-hum) and is resting solely on licensed cats to drive it’s business , and even that is off.
Thomas was growing 10% a year until 2016 when it’s advertising budget was cut by 1/2. Now it’s got no TV advertising and has declined by 40%, even as Paw Patrol ratings begin to sink.
The bottom line is the bottom line - MATTEL doesn’t have enough money to adequately advertise all brands, so it focuses on Barbie because that is the sole brand analystyts use to measure success. It’s cutting off ones nose to spite ones face, but it’s true. But this is a game that is nearly over because with out the aggregate sales of all brands for Barbie to steal from, then Barbie will finally end and so will Mattel.
Heard the saying about not putting all your eggs in one basket? Well, Mattel has been doing that for decades but the basket has a hole in it that no amount of eggs (or money) can ever fill.
ok, time to chime in folks. there’s nothing fantastic about EA. it’s not even big enough to be a pimple on the bum of NYS. Your fearless leader has taken too long to push out the velveteen cancerous growths that have been prospering with inflated salaries whilst doing nothing to advance us back into the top slot of pre-school toys. he’s like a dopey old hedgehog that keeps running into walls when he sees his shadow. your fate is sealed.
To the last poster, you have no idea what you are talking about. I would take the R&D prowess of FP over the two bit “let’s do a napkin sketch and throw it over the development wall to Asia” crap that comes out of ES. Budgets are tight, but investments are being made in EA for all the right reasons. CS is major proof of that and the buzz on campus is infectious. To bad you and yours have no clue what that feels like, but I can tell you first hand that it is f*#>nig fantastic to be in EA!
Your head is buried really far in the ground, or up someones arse, if you think they are investing in EA.
FP is too big a piece of the pie & there is simply too much going on in EA for them to shut it down. They are currently investing in and expanding EA, not shutting it down.
CS is there for the transition and eventual shutdown of the EA campus. He came back to wrap his arms around that golden parachute. Who wouldn't take the offer?
To the last poster, CS is the best thing that has happened to FP in years. You obviously don’t work in EA, because you clearly would have understood how mismanaged we’ve been and how much someone like CS has been needed to stop the ES/BS.
Personally I find it laughable and a testament to not only how poorly this company is being run but how useless CS is as a leader. bringing him back was a lipstick on a pig move. a familiar face that that flannel addicted campus would feel comfortable with. If was half the leader he was “marketed” to be he would have pushed MZ and the rest of the useless upper management out weeks within rejoining the company. Let’s just be happy that the old girl didn’t make it to retirement. We don’t need to pay another bloated salary package.
The JA suggestion is laughable given his fictitious title. Everyone knows the only design leadership he provided was the use of his name. Anything other then that is fake news. Also, regarding MZ, there will be no replacement. The SVP position is being phased out. GW and KH are reporting directly to CS.
we need a power top to replace the power bottom and his VP of packaging twink troller.
Just have more Mix Faires.
My god, Mattel may have have wasted a few million here, 20 million there, but boy they really hit peak Mattel when FP spent all that money on JA. What was the ROI on that boondoggle. I think this post is safe because 95% of Mattel doesn't know what ROI means
The deletions only prove how much of a problem it is in Design. Names being named can only indicate the enormity of the problem. The next level of Design VP's at F-P must go. Design is being oppressed and there is no innovation because of a complete lack of Design leadership.
@TOEL6Vt-tfy should be fine as long as you aren't slandering anyone by name.
I give this thread about 5 minutes before it gets deleted. Stop posting identifiable info, that's not allowed here. Think you can name only the c-suits (like people listed on the company web page as "leadership"), and no one else below that level.