COPENHAGEN: India-born Briton Bali Padda will be appointed as the first foreign CEO of Danish toymaker Lego and to give its family owners a bigger role in developing the Lego brand under an organisational shake-up that will see incumbent Jorgen Vig Knudstorp step down by the end of the year.
Bali Padda, currently chief operations officer, will be the first chief executive from outside the Kristiansen clan, Denmark's richest family. The change comes after more than a decade of impressive growth under Knudstorp, during which the company overtook My Little Pony producer Hasbro to become the world's second-largest toy maker and is now vying with Barbie doll maker Mattel to become the world's biggest.
The growth was boosted from rising demand in Asia and embracing the digital era. The owner family will now become active in brand-related activities, including the group's stake in Merlin Entertainments, operator of the six Lego land theme parks, and in Lego Education used in schools.
Knudstorp, after becoming CEO at the age of 35 in 2004, a year after Lego flirted with bankruptcy, set about reviving Lego's core business. Knudstorp said that Padda will do a better job executing ideas than he has done. “He has a more social and involving way of managing, and I think many in Lego look forward to that,” Knudstorp said.
The change at Lego also reflects an attempt to keep the spirit of a family-owned business alive, after the company's staff increased to 18,500 from less than 5,000 in 2004, Knudstorp said. Under his leadership, sales increased by more than 15 per cent a year on average. Last year, revenue grew by 25 per cent to 35.8 billion Danish crowns ($5.2 billion) with net profit of9.2 billion crowns, making it the world's most profitable toymaker.
