Al Kahn Steps Down at 4Kids

NEW YORK: The long-time chairman and CEO of 4Kids Entertainment, Alfred Kahn, has announced his retirement, leaving the company as of today.

Director Michael Goldstein has been named interim chairman of 4Kids while the company conducts a search for a new CEO. Goldstein has been director since 2003 and has served as chairman of the board of directors of Toys ‘R’ Us, from 1997 to 2001, and vice chairman and CEO of Toys ‘R’ Us, from 1994 to 1998.

 “I want to thank Al Kahn for his years of service at 4Kids as its chairman and chief executive officer,” said Goldstein. “Under his leadership, 4Kids served as the merchandise licensing agent for some of the most successful properties of the last two decades such as Nintendo, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Cabbage Patch Kids. We wish Al success in his future endeavors."

Kahn commented, “After almost 25 years, I have reached the point in my career where I want to relinquish my responsibilities at 4Kids. The last several years have been particularly difficult and demanding with the business of 4Kids being buffeted by the financial crisis. After helping steer the company through challenging times, I have decided that it is the right moment for me to retire. I believe that going forward, Michael Goldstein and the team of experienced 4Kids executives will do an excellent job for our clients and for our shareholders."

“We have an exciting year ahead with a Yu-Gi-Oh! 3-D movie scheduled for release in the U.S. in late February 2011. We are encouraged by the performance of our five-hour Saturday morning block of Japanese animation, called Toonzai on CW 4Kids, our website 4Kids.tv and our new video portal Toonzaki. 4Kids is also negotiating for merchandise licensing rights and television broadcast rights to a number of promising new properties which we hope will create future revenue streams for the company," said Goldstein.