Article: A doll's house. (interview with Mattel CEO Jill Barad)(Interview)(Cover Story)

Jill Barad wants you to think of Mattel not as a toy manufacturer, but as a consumer brand company whose brands happen to be toys. She's credited with the makeover of 38-year-old Barbie; can she now pull off a similar play for the world's largest toy company?

Is Mattel ready for a makeover? When Jill Elikann Barad, 46, was appointed to succeed John Amerman, who had run the El Segundo, CA, toymaker for 10 years, she initiated moves to unload non-core businesses and abandoned a long-standing emphasis on double-digit quarterly earnings growth - a hallmark of her predecessor, who continues as chairman. Described by colleagues as a hard-driving manager with an instinct ...

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