Robert A. Eckert

Last updated

Robert A. Eckert
Born1954 (age 68–69)
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater University of Arizona
Northwestern University
Known forchairman and CEO of Mattel, 2000–11
CEO of Kraft Foods, 1997–2000
Titleoperating partner, Friedman Fleischer & Lowe
Spouses
  • Kathie Eckert
  • Lisa Marie Bongiovanni
Children4

Robert A. "Bob" Eckert (born 1954) is an American businessman, chairman and CEO of Mattel from 2000 to 2011, CEO of Kraft Foods from 1997 to 2000, and an operating partner with the private equity firm Friedman Fleischer & Lowe.

Contents

Early life

Eckert received a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Arizona in 1976, and an MBA in marketing and finance from Northwestern University in 1977. [1] [2]

Career

Eckert started a 23-year career with Kraft Foods in 1977, rising to president and chief executive officer (CEO) in October 1997. [3]

In 2000, Eckert joined Mattel as chairman and CEO, [3] [4] and remained as CEO until December 2011. [3] He retired at the end of 2011, and was succeeded by Bryan G. Stockton who had been chief operating officer [5] and chairman until December 2012. [6]

In 2004, under Eckert's leadership, Mattel began a seven-year legal war against tiny, California-based MGA Entertainment. In a surprise defeat, a jury decided that MGA Entertainment was the rightful owner of the once-billion dollar line of Bratz dolls. A BMO Capital Markets analyst said the failure to settle will go down as a “tremendously bad decision” by Mattel management. “It means they wasted $400 million or so of shareholder money to get zero return,” he said. [7]

In 2014, Eckert joined the private equity firm Friedman Fleischer & Lowe as an operating partner. [3]

He is a non-executive director of Levi Strauss, McDonald's since 2003, and Amgen since 2012. [6]

Personal life

Eckert was married to Kathie, and they had four children. [8] In June 2017, Eckert and his wife sold their Park Tower condominium for a little over $2.92 million. [9]

On June 1, 2019, Eckert married Lisa Marie Bongiovanni, a former Mattel communications executive. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mattel</span> American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company

Mattel, Inc. is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth and Elliot Handler in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. Mattel has a presence in 35 countries and territories; its products are sold in more than 150 countries. Mattel consists of three business segments: North America, International and American Girl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbie</span> Fashion doll brand by Mattel

Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy company Mattel and launched in 1959. The toy is the figurehead of the Barbie brand that includes a range of fashion dolls and accessories. Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for over six decades. Mattel has sold over a billion Barbie dolls, making it the company's largest and most profitable line. The brand has expanded into a multimedia franchise since the late 1980s, including video games, computer-animated films, and a live-action film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bratz</span> American fashion doll and media franchise

Bratz is an American fashion doll and media franchise created by former Mattel employee Carter Bryant for MGA Entertainment, which debuted in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kellogg School of Management</span> Business school of Northwestern University

The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University is the business school of Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1908, Kellogg is one of the oldest and most prestigious business schools in the world. Its faculty, alumni, and students have made significant contributions to fields such as marketing, management sciences, and decision sciences.

Thomas Gary Rogers was an American entrepreneur and executive who acquired and built Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream into a major company. Rogers was formerly a director of Levi Strauss & Co. and he served as the first non-family Chairman of their board in 155 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MGA Entertainment</span> American Toy Company

MGA Entertainment Inc. is a manufacturer of children's toys and entertainment products founded in 1979. Its products include Bratz, L.O.L. Surprise!, Num Noms, and Rainbow High. MGA also owns Little Tikes and animation studio MGA Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher A. Sinclair</span> American businessman (born 1950)

Christopher A. Sinclair is an American businessman. He is the chairman of Reckitt. He is the former chairman and CEO of Mattel. Previously, he was chairman and CEO of PepsiCo.

Douglas Conant is an American businessman who served as President and CEO of the Campbell Soup Company until July 31, 2011. Longtime protégé Denise Morrison, who worked for him at Nabisco as well as Campbell's, succeeded him as CEO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irene Rosenfeld</span> American businesswoman (born 1953)

Irene Blecker Rosenfeld is an American businesswoman who was the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Mondelēz International. Rosenfeld's career began at Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, a New York City advertising agency. She later joined General Foods consumer research, and then led Frito-Lay as CEO and chairwoman.

Edward "Ed" Liddy is an American businessman who was chairman of the Allstate Corporation from 1999 to 2008.

W. Anthony "Tony" Vernon is a business executive who was the first chief executive officer of Kraft Foods after it was spun off from the Mondelēz International in 2012. Prior to his time at Kraft, he had a 23-year career at Johnson & Johnson and spent three years with Ripplewood Holdings. When he took on this position his salary increased to $1m per annum. Vernon’s overall compensation was $9.19 million for 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellman & Friedman</span> American private equity firm

Hellman & Friedman LLC (H&F) is an American private equity firm, founded in 1984 by Warren Hellman and Tully Friedman, that makes investments primarily through leveraged buyouts as well as growth capital investments. H&F has focused its efforts on several core target industries including media, financial services, professional services and information services. The firm tends to avoid asset intensive or other industrial businesses. H&F is based in San Francisco, with offices in New York and London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Larian</span> Iranian-born American businessman (born 1954)

Isaac Larian is an Iranian-born American billionaire businessman, founder and the chief executive officer (CEO) of MGA Entertainment, the world's largest privately owned toy company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friedman Fleischer & Lowe</span> American private equity firm

FFL Partners, LLC, previously known as Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, is an American private equity firm, founded in 1997 by Tully Friedman, Spencer Fleischer, David Lowe, and Christopher Masto. The firm makes investments primarily through leveraged buyouts and growth capital investments and is focused on investing in the U.S. middle-market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tully Friedman</span> American businessman (born 1942)

Tully Friedman is an American businessman. A founding partner of Hellman & Friedman, as of 2013 he was chief executive of Friedman, Fleischer and Lowe, a San Francisco-based private equity firm.

Stephen C. Neal is an American attorney currently serving as the chairman and former chief executive officer (CEO) of Cooley LLP, and the chairman of the board of directors of Levi Strauss & Co.

Ralph Scozzafava is an American business executive who is best known for his position as Chief Executive Officer at Dean Foods, the largest fluid milk company in the United States, from January 1, 2017 to July 29, 2019. He previously served as the company's Chief Operating Officer and joined Dean Foods in 2014 as the company's Chief Commercial Officer.

John T. Cahill is an American businessman.

Jill Barad is an American businesswoman from New York City, who was CEO of Mattel from 1997 to 2000.

References

  1. ↑ "Robert Eckert – News, Articles, Biography, Photos – WSJ.com". Topics.wsj.com. October 3, 2002. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Bob Eckert | Kellogg School of Management | Northwestern University". Kellogg.northwestern.edu. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Former Mattel Chief Robert Eckert Joins Friedman Fleischer & Lowe". The New York Times. September 25, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  4. ↑ "#72 Robert A Eckert". Forbes.com. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Mattel Announces Robert A. Eckert to Retire as CEO". Business Wire. November 21, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Robert A. Eckert". Levi Strauss. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Mattel Loses Huge Suit Over Popular Dolls". HuffPost. April 21, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Robert A. Eckert 1954— Biography – Low-profile beginnings, Climbing the corporate ladder at kraft". Referenceforbusiness.com. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Former CEO of Kraft, Mattel sells Michigan Avenue condo". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Wedding Registry". The Good Beginning. Retrieved December 9, 2020.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.