Dive Brief:
- Mattel named Paul Ruh, the current CFO of the consumer health product company Kenvue, as its new finance chief, effective May 19, according to a release and a filing Thursday. Ruh led Kenvue’s separation from Johnson & Johnson Services, one of the largest splits in public company history, according to the release.
- Ruh, 58, will succeed the toymaker’s retiring CFO Anthony DiSilvestro, who told Mattel in January he would be retiring this month, leading the company to launch a search for his successor. DiSilvestro will serve as an advisor during the transition through Aug. 15, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz cited Ruh’s track record as a global finance leader representing some of the world’s largest consumer brands. “We welcome Paul at an exciting chapter in our journey and look forward to his partnership as we continue to successfully execute our multi-year strategy and unlock the full value of our IP outside the toy aisle,” Kreiz said in a statement included in the release.
Dive Insight:
The leadership change comes at the end of a week in which the El Segundo, California-based company landed squarely in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s tariff push.
Kreiz on Monday said the toy company will take “pricing action in our U.S. business” where necessary in response to tariffs and global trade uncertainty, CFO Dive sister publication Retail Dive reported. Kreiz also told CNBC that he did not foresee toy manufacturing coming to America. On Thursday, Trump lashed out at the company, threatening to place a 100% tariff on Mattel, Newsweek reported. Mattel did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the tariff matter.
In Ruh, Mattel will be getting a finance leader who is a veteran in the consumer space. He has been CFO of Kenvue since May of 2023. Before that, Ruh was CFO of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health from 2017 to 2023, and previously served in various other financial leadership roles at PepsiCo, Inc., including as CFO of Latin America, CFO of Pepsi Beverages America, and CFO of PepsiCo Foodservice, according to Mattel’s SEC filing. He began his career in operations finance with The Procter & Gamble Company and also worked at McKinsey & Company in Mexico City and Santiago de Chile.
As part of his compensation package, Ruh will receive an annual base salary of $950,000, with an annual target bonus under the Mattel Incentive Plan of 100% of his base salary, up to a maximum of 200% of his base salary, which will be prorated for 2025. He will also receive a “make whole” stock grant on May 30 of restricted stock units valued at $3.8 million and will be eligible for annual stock grant awards beginning in 2025, with a total target grant value of $2.8 million for 2025. In addition, he will receive a $2,000 monthly car allowance and a $100,000 signing bonus.
