Ynon Kreiz (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: ינון קרייז; born 1965). is an Israeli-American businessman and current Chairman and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

.. He served as

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and CEO of

Fox Kids Europe Jetix Europe N.V. (formerly known as Fox Kids Europe N.V.) was a European television broadcasting company that owned children's television channels and programming blocks across the Europe and Middle East, such as Jetix and Jetix Play. History ...

from 1997–2002, Chairman and CEO of television and digital production company

Endemol Endemol B.V. was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted genres, including drama, reality ...

from 2008 to 2011, and as Chairman, CEO and President of web video network Maker Studios, Inc. from 2012 to 2016.

Early life and education

Born and raised in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, Kreiz earned a BA in Economics and Management from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

in 1991. He then moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to attend graduate school and in 1993 received an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as account ...

from UCLA's Anderson School of Management.

Career

Fox Kids Europe

While at UCLA, Kreiz met American-Israeli media mogul

Haim Saban Haim Saban (; he, חיים סבן; born October 15, 1944) is an Israeli-American media proprietor, investor, and producer of records, film, and television. A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media, and an e ...

whom he joined in 1994 as a

business partner A business partner is a commercial entity with which another commercial entity has some form of alliance. This relationship may be a contractual, exclusive bond in which both entities commit not to ally with third parties. Alternatively, it may be ...

. In 1996 Kreiz moved to London to launch children's television network

, a joint venture with Rupert Murdoch's

News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...

. From 1997-2002 Kreiz served as Chairman and CEO of

. During his tenure, Fox Kids expanded into one of the largest pay-TV channels in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, broadcasting in 56 countries in 17 languages. In 1999 Fox Kids Europe (FKE) was listed on the Euronext Stock Exchange in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, and in 2001 the

Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

acquired a majority stake (76%) in

, with the remaining 24% of its stock publicly traded. Kreiz resigned from FKE at the expiration of his contract in 2002, the year following the Disney sale.

Benchmark Capital Europe (Balderton Capital)

In 2005-2007 Kreiz was a General Partner at European VC firm

Benchmark Capital Benchmark is a venture capital firm based in San Francisco that provides seed money to startups. History The firm's most successful investment was a 1997 investment of $6.7 million in eBay for 22.1% of the company. In 2011, it invested $12 mill ...

(later renamed

Balderton Capital Balderton Capital is a venture capital firm based in London, UK, that invests in early-stage, technology and internet startup companies in Europe. It is considered to be among the four-biggest venture capital firms in the English capital. Foun ...

). Kreiz served on the boards of several media/technology companies including North American Sport Network (sold to

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

in 2006),

Next New Networks The YouTube Next Lab and Audience Development Group, founded as Next New Networks, is a company based in New York City. Next New was launched in March 2007 by founders Fred Seibert & Emil Rensing, and co-founders Herb Scannell, Timothy Shey and ...

(sold to

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

in 2011),

Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...

, Wonga and

Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts. Founded by brothers Richard and David Darling in Octo ...

Endemol

From 2008 to 2011 Kreiz served as Chairman and CEO of

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

-based global television and digital production company

, known for unscripted reality programming hits such as ' Big Brother' and others. During Kreiz's tenure, Endemol "strengthened its creative output, diversified its lines of business, completed highly accretive M&A transactions, expanded geographically, reduced its cost structure and entered into new strategic relationships." Challenges were numerous, however. While operational performance remained strong under Kreiz, the company had substantial debt with a high level of interest payments from its 2007 buyout at the peak of the private-equity boom prior to Kreiz joining the company. In addition, changes in consumer media consumption required diversifying risk; Kreiz is credited with restructuring Endemol's creative profile and business operations through expansion from reality television into scripted programming and distribution.

Maker Studios

In 2012, Kreiz invested in and joined the board of Los Angeles based multi-channel network

Maker Studios Maker(s) or The Maker(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Maker'' (film), a 1997 American drama film *'' Makers: Women Who Make America'', a 2013 American TV documentary, a 2014 TV series, and related media *Maker Studios, now part of D ...

as Chairman and in 2013 became

. Maker Studios produces short-form videos on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and other platforms, with a roster of over 55,000 independent artists. In March 2014, Kreiz negotiated the sale of Maker to

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

for $500 million, with an additional $450 million based on meeting performance incentives. During Kreiz's tenure, Maker's network and reach expanded beyond YouTube, including deals with

Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

, as well as the creation mobile apps and branded video hubs for its individual content creators. In January 2016 Kreiz stepped down as CEO following the expiration of Maker's earn-out agreement with Disney.

Mattel

In April 2018, Kreiz became CEO of

, replacing Margo Georgiadis, after a year of continued weak sales. Kreiz became board chairman in May 2018. In 2021, under Kreiz's leadership, Mattel's net sales were up 19% and its operating income was up 95% vs. the prior year - Mattel's highest annual growth rate in the last decade. As CEO, Kreiz and Mattel set

ESG ESG may refer to : Groups * Election Support Group, an internationally sponsored organization analyzing and supporting the electoral process in Pakistan * ES Guelma, an Algerian football club based in Guelma * Escuela Superior de Guerra (Argenti ...

goals of achieving 100% recyclable plastic materials in all products and packaging, reducing plastic packaging by 25% per product by 2030, and maintaining 100% pay equity globally.

Personal life

Kreiz is a former

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

instructor and avid kite surfer. He is married to Israeli Olympian

Anat Fabrikant Anat Fabrikant-Kreiz (ענת פבריקנט; born September 14, 1975) is an Israeli former Olympic competitive sailor. Personal life She was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and is Jewish. She is married to Ynon Kreiz, CEO of Mattel. Sailing career She ...

with four children. Kreiz was the Attaché of the

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

Olympic team for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and Chairman of the Boards of Trustees in support of the Israeli athletes. He is a member of the Board of Advisors at UCLA's Anderson School of Management and the Board of Directors at

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

. Kreiz is also a member of Business Roundtable, an organization of CEOs of America's leading companies.

In popular culture

In the 2023 film

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

, Kreiz will be portrayed by

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...

References

External links

Maker StudiosEndemol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kreiz, Ynon 21st-century American businesspeople American businesspeople in the online media industry American chief executives in the media industry American financiers American investors American Jews American mass media company founders American television producers Israeli chief executives Israeli emigrants to the United States Israeli financiers Israeli investors Israeli Jews Israeli television producers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)