By Gary Symons
TLL Editor-in-Chief
Big news at Mattel, as the U.S. toymaker has appointed veteran leader Steve Totzke as its new president and chief operating officer, effective Nov. 11.
Totzke steps into the role as Roberto Stanichi has said he is stepping down from his role as president and chief marketing and brand officer in order to pursue another opportunity.
Totzke will now be overseeing the company’s global brand portfolio, sales and commercial operations, and consumer products and experiences, reporting directly to Mattel Chairman and CEO Roger Lynch.
“Steve is a highly accomplished and respected leader at Mattel and across the global toy industry, with three decades of experience driving growth, deepening relationships with our retail and entertainment partners, and expanding the reach of our brands,” Lynch said. “He has been an invaluable advisor to the Board and to me as I’ve stepped into the Chairman and CEO role.
Steve’s comprehensive understanding of Mattel and the marketplace makes him exceptionally well suited to lead in this newly created role,” Lynch added. “I look forward to working closely with him as we sharpen our execution, drive innovation and creativity, and translate the strength of our brands into value for our shareholders.”
The shuffle at the top also comes as Mattel posted some stellar numbers in its third-quarter earnings reports, boasting increased revenue and profits, prompting Lynch to offer the company’s thanks to Stanichi for his work at Mattel.
“We thank Roberto for his many contributions over his 20-year career at Mattel,” Lynch said. “He has played an important part in developing our brand-centric operating model and we wish him all the best in his next chapter.”
Totzke previously served as Mattel’s president and chief commercial officer, overseeing the company’s global sales and commercial operations.
Prior to being named Chief Commercial Officer, Totzke served as Executive Vice President, Commercial for the company’s North America division. Totzke has also held several international leadership positions during his 30-year tenure with Mattel. He has served as president and executive advisor since May 2026. A longtime champion of the toy industry, Totzke has served on the Board of Directors of the Toy Association and the Mattel Children’s Foundation. He was inducted into the Canadian Toy Association Hall of Fame in 2025 and received the Inclusive Leadership Award from Women in Toys, Licensing, and Entertainment (WiT) in 2026.
“I am honored by the confidence Roger and the Board have in me and am excited to take on this expanded role,” Totzke said. “Mattel has an extraordinary portfolio of brands, tremendous creative and commercial capabilities, and an incredibly talented team.”
Totzke acknowledged the new role differs from the one Stanichi helmed prior to this change, as it will entail structural changes at Mattel. The basic idea, he said, is to streamline decision-making by combining Mattel’s brands, its commercial operations and both its consumer products and experiences divisions into a single entity.
“Bringing our brand portfolio, commercial, and consumer products and experiences organizations together gives us a powerful opportunity to operate with greater focus and speed, strengthen our partnerships, and create even more compelling products and experiences for our fans around the world,” Totzke added.
Totzke’s new role was announced by Lynch at the same time the company unveiled its Q3 results, and the news was extremely positive for the company.
Lynch said net sales of $1.8 billion are up 4% year-over-year (YOY), and 3% in constant currency, over the same period in 2025. More impressively, gross margin soared to 54.8%, an increase of 480 basis points.
Lynch also noted that tariff refunds helped Mattel in this quarter, as the company’s adjusted gross margin also increased 480 points to 55%, driven primarily by $88 million in tariff rebates. Mattel’s net income hit $354 million for the quarter, an increase of $75 million.
The increased cash flow this year has also allowed Mattel to buy back $308 million of shares over the first nine months of 2026, Lynch said.
While the financial results generally pointed to a solid year for Mattel thus far, Lynch also said he can see some areas where improvement is needed.
“My first few weeks leading Mattel have reinforced my belief in the company’s potential,” the new CEO said. “I also see clearly where we must improve. We will focus our resources on our greatest opportunities and translate the strength of Mattel’s portfolio and capabilities into more consistent financial performance. Our priorities are clear: strengthen our brands and win in toys, drive innovation and creativity, and invest with discipline to drive profitable growth.”
Lynch and Totzke will likely be focusing more attention on their Infant, Toddler and Preschool brands, which saw a 16% decline in Gross Billings to $221 billion. That drop was primarily due to a sales decline by Mattel’s Fisher-Price brand.
Mattel got better news for its other top categories. Dolls were the top money-maker at $703 million, up 4%. The category was helped by the addition of licensed dolls for Kpop Demon Hunters, which balanced out a decline in sales of Barbie.
Gross Billings for vehicles saw the strongest growth at 9% YOY, primarily driven by sales of Hot Wheels, taking overall sales to $680 million.
Gross Billings for Action Figures, Building Sets, Games, and Other were $451 million, up 12%, primarily driven by growth in Games (including the contribution of the Mattel163 video game division) and Action Figures.
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