Dive Brief:
- Mattel President and Chief Commercial Officer Steve Totzke will step down from his role on May 1, the company announced on Tuesday. Totzke submitted a letter of resignation to the toy company, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Sanjay Luthra has been promoted and appointed to take over Totzke’s role, where he will oversee Mattel’s global sales and commercial operations. Luthra is currently managing director of EMEA and global direct-to-consumer. Luthra will report to Mattel Chairman and CEO Ynon Kreiz.
- Totzke will stay with the company as the executive adviser and president of strategic transition through Dec. 31 to ensure a smooth transition.
Dive Insight:
After a nearly 30-year combined run with Mattel, Totzke is exiting the toy company at the end of the year.
He worked as a director of sales for four years in the 1990s, left the company for Spin Master, then returned to Mattel in the early 2000s. Totzke served in a variety of roles at Mattel, including as chief commercial officer of North America and senior vice president of U.S. sales and shopper marketing, according to his LinkedIn.
During his time at Mattel, Totzke accelerated the company’s e-commerce strategy, evolved a digital-first demand creation approach and expanded its reach through major retail partners, according to the company.
Totzke is entitled to receive severance payments and benefits and accelerated vesting of certain equity rewards as part of the company’s severance and involuntary retirement plans, according to the SEC filings.
Mattel has made a number of recent leadership changes, including restructuring its brand team to add the new roles of chief global brand officer and global head of dolls. At the end of last year, the toy company named former Netflix executive Natalia Premovic as its chief consumer products and experiences officer.
In its most recent quarter, Mattel’s net sales jumped 7% year over year to $1.8 billion, while full-year net sales dipped 1%.
The company is tracking ahead of its three-year, $200 million savings target and is anticipating around $50 million of savings this year.
“2026 will be an important year for Mattel as we implement our new brand-centric strategy to grow our IP-driven play and family entertainment business. We expect growth to be led by innovation in toys, major partnerships with leading IP owners, and an inflection in entertainment,” Kreiz said in a statement in February. “We are making strategic investments that will impact the bottom line this year but are intended to accelerate growth in top and bottom lines in 2027 and beyond.”
