We all make calculations and assumptions on the news we hear. If we know something about the subject it could be closer to calculations, if we do not know we rely on assumptions. The headline above is the CEO of an organization that publishes magazines is moving to a company best known for toys. Will it work?

In an article by Katie Robertson of the New York Times News Service, Conde Nast CEO Roger Lynch is leaving the company after 7 years to become the new CEO of Mattel.

Conde Nast’s board of directors began a search for a new CEO, however the interim CEO will be Mike Perlis, the lead independent director and former CEO of Forbes Media.

7 years ago, Roger Lynch took over Conde Nast when the company was struggling financially with losses of more than $100 million annually. He tried to move the company away from print and focus on events and video.

Conde Nast publications include Vogue, Glamour, The New Yorker, GQ, Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest and many others. The company has gone through rounds of cost cutting and will have to navigate changes from AI which has sharply lowered traffic to online publications coming from search engines and altered how audiences consume content.

Mattel best known for Barbie and Hot Wheels has tried to expand its brands into film, TV and games The movie Barbie was a global hit, but Masters of the Universe did not do well, but found success in streaming.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, it could be companies are becoming closer to each other than very distinct markets, so the CEO’s background is a very good thing to be coming from a different industry. In the past, people moved companies, but they tended to be similar types of companies. If Mr. Lynch is a success, and we hope he is, when a new CEO is announced we can make more calculations and less assumptions.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.