Dive Brief:
- Mattel’s EVP and CTO Sven Gerjets departed the company after nearly seven years leading technology operations at the toy company, according to a LinkedIn post Thursday.
- “I’m super proud of our tech team and all the incredible things we’ve accomplished together,” Gerjets said in the Thursday post. “Can’t wait to watch the next chapter unfold as Mattel continues its incredible journey.”
- Gerjets previously served as CIO at Time Warner Cable, CTO at Pearson and SVP of IT at DirecTV. At Mattel, Gerjets was responsible for all aspects of technology innovation and implementation, including software and hardware development, AI, security, privacy and shared technology platforms. Mattel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dive Insight:
Gerjets’ departure comes at a time when Mattel is experimenting with AI broadly to support various business goals, including its three-year, $200 million cost-savings target.
The toy company had a “milestone year” in 2023, according to CEO Ynon Kreiz, speaking during an earnings call in February. In addition to its Barbie movie spurring sales, Mattel reached $132 million in cost savings last year, Kreiz said during the company’s Q4 2023 earnings call, with total annualized savings hitting $343 million between 2021 and 2023.
“As we look to further efficiencies that would leverage our global scale, AI is certainly one of them,” CFO Anthony DiSilvestro said during the company’s earnings call last month. DiSilvestro also pointed to cost optimization opportunities within its supply chain.
The company has a team dedicated to exploring AI applications across the business, executives said during the earnings call. Mattel did not provide additional details on its CTO replacement search.
Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect Sven Gerjets spent nearly 7 years at Mattel.
