After 2023's smash success of Greta Gerwig's "Barbie," Kreiz has become one of the most intriguing figures in Hollywood. Kreiz, who arrived at Mattel in 2018, is credited with turning the toy company around by building franchises around its popular products. "Barbie" was the top grossing film of 2023 and nominated for eight Oscars, pushing the boundaries of entertainment and showing a path for other brands to jump to the big screen.

Barbie is just the beginning: Mattel has announced 16 movies, including a Matchbox project starring John Cena and a Hot Wheels film from J.J. Abrams, and has dozens more in development, not to mention TV shows, video games, and theme parks

Kreiz spoke with Business Insider on Wednesday about lessons from Barbie and how he's turning Mattel into an IP company. Earlier in the day, he took the stage with journalist Kara Swisher at Advance, an advertising conference in New York put on by Smartly, an AI ad platform.