Judd Zebersky Steps Down After Nearly 30 Years at Jazwares
Judd Zebersky closed nearly three decades at Jazwares on March 20, 2026, stepping down as CEO of the company he founded after leaving a career in law. David Neustein, who served as Chief Operating Officer for 14 years, assumed the CEO role on March 23, 2026, taking over a business with roughly 1,400 employees and distribution reaching more than 100 countries.
An Unusual Path Into the Toy Business
Judd Zebersky‘s background offered little obvious preparation for toy manufacturing. He earned a JD from the University of Miami School of Law and ran his own law firm before making the pivot. The decision came down to a conversation with his wife.
“I looked at my wife, and I said, ‘I want to make toys,'” he recalled. “She said, ‘Follow your dreams,’ and that’s what I did.”
He flew to China, spent months touring factories across the southern provinces, and learned manufacturing processes including injection molding, blow molding, rotocasting, and hair rooting from the floor up. That hands-on knowledge became the operational backbone of Jazwares.
Squishmallows and the Road to Scale
Jazwares built early momentum through licensed products tied to Minecraft, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Fortnite. Acquisitions in 2019 and 2020 brought Wicked Cool Toys and Kellytoy into the fold, with Kellytoy carrying Pokémon and Squishmallows, the soft plush line that became a cultural touchpoint.
Squishmallows, each with individual names, bios, and backstories, gained mass traction on TikTok and attracted celebrity collectors like Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian. More than 100 million units sold in a single year. Alleghany Capital Corporation took a majority stake in Jazwares in 2016, and Berkshire Hathaway gained ownership through its 2022 acquisition of Alleghany.
Under Judd Zebersky’s leadership, Jazwares appeared on TIME’s Most Influential Companies list and earned Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators designation. The company also received recognition from Fortune for its manufacturing workplace culture. Read this article for additional information.
Find more information about Judd Zebersky on https://toybook.com/jazwares-leadership-transition/
Judd Zebersky closed nearly three decades at Jazwares on March 20, 2026, stepping down as CEO of the company he founded after leaving a career in law. David Neustein, who served as Chief Operating Officer for 14 years, assumed the CEO role on March 23, 2026, taking over a business with roughly 1,400 employees and…