Oct 6, 2026 · 17 min
Kreiz’s Mattel playbook meets Condé Nast’s next chapter
Skydance’s Brain Trust & Condé After Roger
The episode frames two leadership changes as a test of whether media companies can turn expensive bets on IP, entertainment, and digital products into durable businesses.
- 1Ynon Kreiz’s hands-on Mattel record raises expectations for restructuring and potential cuts at Skydance.
- 2Roger Lynch leaves Condé Nast after steering through COVID, TikTok, streaming, and the collapse of branded-content strategies.
- 3Condé Nast’s next leader must decide whether to extend or redirect investments in entertainment, licensing, social content, and AI.
Don't miss
The hosts connect Kreiz’s Mattel transformation to the possibility that Condé Nast could be managed more explicitly as an intellectual-property and entertainment company.
The brief
Jon Kelly and Peter Hamby open with Ynon Kreiz’s arrival at Skydance, asking whether his hands-on operating style will bring restructuring and cuts.
Kreiz’s Mattel tenure offers the central case study: the company moved from manufacturing toward intellectual property, entertainment, and licensing, amplified by Barbie.
The conversation then turns to Roger Lynch’s departure from Condé Nast, with his continued board role preserving institutional knowledge during a leadership transition.
Kelly and Hamby assess Lynch’s tenure against COVID, TikTok, streaming, and the weakening of branded content, while revisiting Condé Nast’s video and digital bets.
The standout tension is whether Condé Nast’s next leader will build on its investments in entertainment, social content, licensing, and AI—or redirect them.