JAKKS Management Team
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Stephen G. Berman is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK), a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of toys and consumer products. Berman co-founded JAKKS in 1995, and since its inception the company has grown to become a leading company in the toy industry with more than 750 employees worldwide. JAKKS has an impressive portfolio of top licensed brands and original intellectual properties.
Berman is well-known for his keen eye in product design, and for having his finger on the pulse of what will be hot with kids. The success of the company is attributed to Berman’s visionary leadership, creativity and inimitable ability to forge strategic partnerships here and abroad with entertainment’s biggest names such as The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros., Activision, NBCUniversal, Microsoft, and Nintendo, to name a few.
Berman has successfully navigated the company through 22 acquisitions since 1995. He has been recognized by Ernst & Youngas Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000, and has been awarded the Licensing Industry Excellence Award by Variety Magazine in 2006. A direct result of his hands-on approach, JAKKS has been named Vendor of the Year multiple times by Target, Walmart and Toys ‘R Us.
In addition to his entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen, Berman is a dedicated and passionate corporate humanitarian committed to helping children in need. He created JAKKS Cares, the philanthropic arm of JAKKS Pacific, granting more than $50 million in monetary and in-kind donations to-date to children’s charities throughout the U.S. In 2008, not only was JAKKS recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the Top 20 Corporate Philanthropists in Los Angeles, but also Friends of the Family® awarded Berman the Families Matter Vanguard Award for his outstanding contribution to children’s philanthropy. And in 2009, Operation Smile honored Berman with the Corporate Humanitarian Award.
Prior to JAKKS, Berman was an original founder of THQ International and served as their Managing Director. Additionally, Berman served as president and an owner of Balanced Approach, Inc. a distributor of personal fitness products and services.
Chief Operating Officer
A 25-year veteran of the toy industry, Jack McGrath joined JAKKS Pacific in 1999 as Vice President of Marketing and Product Development, advanced to Senior Vice President of Operations in 2000, and then Executive Vice President of Operations in 2008. Mr. McGrath worked at Mattel Toys in 1995 as an International Marketer and later Marketed the Hot Wheels brand from 1996 – 1998. He holds a Marketing Degree from California State University of Long Beach.
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. John Kimble brings to JAKKS more than 20 years of experience in finance, strategy and corporate development, with expertise in operations, financial planning and strategy, cross-border international business activities, licensing and mergers and acquisitions, in addition to financial reporting and accounting.
Mr. Kimble worked for over 12 years in various VP / leadership positions at The Walt Disney Company covering Finance, Strategy, Operations, and Business Development. More recently, Mr. Kimble spent six years at Mattel, Inc. where he held several positions, including Vice President & Head of Corporate Development, Licensing Acquisitions, M&A. In between his service at Disney and Mattel, John spent a couple of years as an entrepreneur at a start-up gaming company. He began his career as a consultant for Mars & Co., a global strategy consulting firm. Mr. Kimble received his Bachelor’s Degree in Management Science, Concentration in Finance, Minor in Economics from the Sloan School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
