Barad resigned as CEO in 2000 after pressure from shareholders and investors over the company's dismal financial performance and her poor strategic planning.
Barad joined Mattel in 1981 as an employee in the novelty section of the well-known toy company
1990-1992, president
In 1998 Barad led Mattel into a merger with the Pleasant Company, the maker of the American Girl brand of dolls and clothes
1982-1983, director, marketing
1992-1997, president and chief operating officer
1983-1985, vice president, marketing
1997-2000, chairman, president, and chief executive officer.
1989-1990, president, girls' and activity toys division; Mattel USA, 1990-1992, president
Barad's hard work and successful marketing campaigns for Barbie and other best-selling dolls helped to bring Mattel back from a brush with bankruptcy in the early 1980s
Barad's major error in judgment came in 1999, when she led Mattel's acquisition of the Learning Company, a software maker, for $3.5 billion in stock. She expected the purchase to help Mattel cross into the high-tech toy market.
In 1995, however, Barad began to market Barbie as a professional role model with the tagline "We Girls Can Do Anything,".
Jill E. Barad was born on May 23rd, 1951.