1. At Mattel, Tom Kalinske was credited with reviving the Barbie and Hot Wheels brands, launching Masters of the Universe, then being promoted to CEO from 1985 to 1987.
17 Facts About Tom Kalinske
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Tom Kalinske next became CEO of Matchbox, and then was recruited to be the president and CEO of Sega of America from 1990 to 1996, and then CEO and COB of LeapFrog from 1997 to 2006.
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Tom Kalinske was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in 1997 and received a Lifetime Achievement award from People of Play in 2021.
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Tom Kalinske has been honored as "Man of the Year" by the NY Boy Scouts and LA Make A Wish Foundation.
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Tom Kalinske is Chairman of Mixed Dimensions, a 3D printing company, and on the boards of Stitched Insights, Adjunct Professor Link, Storyworld, the University of Wisconsin School of Business and Teach The World Foundation.
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Thomas Tom Kalinske earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Wisconsin in 1966 and MBA at the University of Arizona in 1968.
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Tom Kalinske implemented plans to cut costs by moving production to more labor-cheap regions in Asia, and by 1990, the company had managed to turn a profit for the first time in years, with a revenue of over $350 million.
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Tom Kalinske was generally against releasing the Saturn early, but was forced to do so by Sega.
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Tom Kalinske was not a fan of the Saturn's architecture, and was later quoted saying that he believed no one would be able to successfully market the console.
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Tom Kalinske remained on Sega's board of directors following his resignation.
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Tom Kalinske later became the CEO and chairman of the educational toy company, Leapfrog, which grew to over $600M in revenue, becoming the largest education toy company in the US.
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Tom Kalinske was President of Knowledge Universe, a company that aimed to use technology to improve education.
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Tom Kalinske was on the board of directors of the Toy Manufacturers of America for twelve years.
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Tom Kalinske was on the board of Blackboard between 2005 and 2012.
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Tom Kalinske is on the board of Cambium Learning Group, the board of Genyous and the board of WCEPS.
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Tom Kalinske is emeritus advisor to the UW Business School and University of Arizona Eller School of Management, and is vice chairman of LeapFrog Inc.
17.
Tom Kalinske has received the NYC Boy Scout's Good Scout Award, the Starlight Foundation Man of Year Award, the University of Wisconsin Business Partners "Distinguished low" Award and the Video Software Dealers Man of Year Award.