Ms. Barad officially resigned her position, ending speculation as to her fate with the toy company giant. Barad took over the reigns more than 3 years ago and found herself the subject of intense scrutiny after a controversial acquisition of the Learning Company in 1999.

"The Board of Directors and I view the performance of The Learning Co., and its effect on our results, as unacceptable. Therefore, the Board and I have agreed that today I resign from the positions of chairman and chief executive officer of Mattel and as a member of the company's Board," Barad said in a statement.

Industry analysts generally believe that this was the correct move for Mattel. Shareholders had become increasingly dissatisfied with the company's performance and pressure was being applied to make changes at the top. Many observers believe that Mattel can mount a comeback if the company is more sensitive to the evolving toy market instead of relying solely on past performers such as Barbie and Hot Wheels.

Many observers believed that the announcement of Ms. Barad's departure would be held off until after the American International Toy Fair which begins on February 13th. However, the company chose to announce Ms. Barad's resignation immediately. Mattel said its board of directors has taken charge of the company to oversee operations and coordinate the search for a new chief executive officer.

The Board named board members William Rollnick acting chairman and Ronald Loeb acting chief executive officer. The company's day-to-day operations will be managed by a newly formed Office of the Chief Operating Officer, comprised of key executives in charge of Mattel's major brands, the company said.

[Updated 02/04/2000]