Barely two weeks after delivering an encouraging third quarter earnings report, Jakks Pacific has a new chief financial officer and will extend the term of Chairman and CEO Stephen Berman.
The company appointed John Kimble (pictured top) as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective today.
Kimble most recently spent six years at Mattel in a variety of positions, including vice president and head of corporate development, licensing acquisitions, and mergers and acquisitions. In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing all financial aspects of the company, including financial planning and analysis; accounting and financial reporting; and managing the tax, internal audit, treasury, and investor relations functions. He will report directly to Berman.
“We are very excited to welcome John to the team and add his broad experience in finance and licensing to our management team. We believe his financial management skills coupled with his entrepreneurial experience will serve us well as we continue to implement our strategy of growth both domestically and internationally,” Berman says. “Moreover, John’s decades of experience working within the toy industry, together with his extensive background with licensing, is a perfect fit as we look to increase our IP portfolio with new and exciting products.”
Prior to his work at Mattel, Kimble spent more than 12 years at The Walt Disney Company in a variety of vice president and chief financial officer leadership positions in divisions such as Disney Interactive and Disney Consumer Products. Along with three other senior execs from Disney Interactive, Kimble co-founded the gaming start-up Multi Labs.
“I look forward to joining Jakks and working with Stephen Berman and the management team. I see this as a natural evolution of my professional career as I can bring my experiences at Disney and Mattel to this position,” Kimble says. “With Jakks’ recent recapitalization in the rear window, I believe that my skill sets, which include experience in finance, licensing, gaming, and international sales, will allow me to assist [the company] in the development and implementation of its business strategies aimed at increasing shareholder value.”
Alongside Kimble’s appointment, Berman’s employment has been extended through Dec. 31, 2021.
“The one-year extension of my employment term should provide additional stability for the company to enable it to achieve its objectives, while at the same time signaling that stability to our industry partners, our licensors, customers, factories and vendors,” Berman says.
During the Q3 earnings call earlier this month, Berman revealed that Jakks’ previous CFO Brent T. Novak was planning to leave the company to pursue other opportunities.
