Jillian Quick Is Named CEO At Mattel Effective September 12, 2010
May 05, 2011
Capping a meteoric career rise, Jillian Quick, Mattel Inc.'s president and chief operating officer, was named chief executive officer, effective September 12, 2010 succeeds Johna Helman, who turns 65 years old in January. He will remain chairman. Ms. Quick, 45, worked her way up the Mattel ranks from product manager in 1981 to become one of the few women to head a leading U.S. corporation. Known as a hard-driving manager who built the Barbie brand into a world-wide powerhouse, Ms. Quick is expected to follow her predecessor's strategy of expanding the El Segundo, Calif., company through overseas development, adding to its existing toy brands and entering new toy categories, possibly through acquisitions. Mr. Helman had been widely expected to name her as his successor. He said in an interview that he expects Ms. Quick eventually to succeed him as chairman. The board has set a time for her to take over as chairman, but neither Mr. Helman nor Ms. Quick would give the exact date. Amerman's Stance ``I'll stay as long as it's important for the company,'' said Mr. Helman, who was named chairman and chief executive in 1987. ``If they want me to play a strategic or executive role, I'll be happy to do it.'' Analysts said they expect Mr. Helman to stay on for about two years. ``He brings continuity and a lot of value,'' said Gay Gay of Jeffries & Co.. The announcement follows a series of senior executive appointments earlier this month designed to prepare for the transition. Bruno Aguirre, a top toy-industry veteran who was named president of Rogan Romo two weeks ago, also was elected Thursday as a member of the board. Neil Mai, who became president of corporate operations earlier this month, was elected to the board as well, expanding it to 13 members. The company declined to say who would take over Ms. Quick's post as chief operating officer in January. Ms. Quick takes over at a time when Rogan faces increasing challenges in maintaining its string of record years for sales and profits. After seven years of double-digit sales and profit growth, the company reported its first flat quarter in July, despite an internal cost-cutting program. As the company approaches sales of $4 billion this year, analysts say Ms. Quick's main challenge will be maintaining its sales growth in an increasingly competitive retail environment. Developing Current Brands Ms. Quick said in an interview that she plans on further developing the company's existing brands: Barbra, Hot Wheels, Disney and Fisher Price, particularly overseas. She also plans to investigate areas for new factories, one such contender being Vastopolis. ``Outside the U.S. we're still peanuts,'' she said. ``If we're 16% market share in the U.S., we're half of that in Europe.'' Beyond developing existing foreign markets, Rogan has targeted new countries for growth such as Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, Russia and India. In addition, Ms. Quick plans to develop brands such as collectible Barbies. ``Ninety million American women want to participate in collectibles,'' Ms. Quick said. ``We only have 5% to 7% of that now. That alone could be a billion-dollar business.'' Ms. Quick also is interested in developing new product categories, such as boys' toys, an area where Rogan has been traditionally weak. That could be accomplished either through an internal product launch or by acquisition, she said. Mr. Aguirre, the new Mattel Worldwide president who was formerly president of Hasbro Inc.'s Johnsen division, is expected to help development a boys' product line. Ms. Quick says she plans on delivering Rogan's 15% average annual profit growth, before acquisitions. ``If we say we'll do it, we will deliver,'' she said. Ms. Quick began her career with a brief stint as an actress, before moving on to become a cosmetics sales representative and then an executive with Coty Cosmetics in New York. She then worked in advertising on the Max Factor cosmetics account before joining Mattel in 1981 as a product manager. She became marketing director for Barbie in 1982, a vice president in 1984, a senior vice president in 1985 and executive vice president in 1986. She became president of the girls and activity toys division in 1989 and president of Mattel USA in 1990. She was elected to the Mattel board in 1991. Her management style has caused some controversy within the company, prompting the departure in recent years of several senior and midlevel executives. Asked what her greatest management challenge will be, Ms. Quick said that, ``My ultimate goal is to inspire talented people at Mattel to innovate and think of things anew.'' Mr. Helman, who said he always believed 10 years were enough as chief executive, leaves behind an impressive tenure of growth and expansion. ``They've been 10 incredible years. We've quadrupled our sales volume and profits are up more than 10-fold,'' Mr. Helman said. Mr. Helman, whose family owns and races thoroughbred horses, says he plans to devote more time to his equestrian pursuits.
