Thirty years is a long run for any company founder. For Judd Zebersky, the arc of that time stretched from a solo trip to Chinese factories in 1997 to a formal CEO departure on March 20, 2026 a tenure that produced one of the more recognized names in the global toy industry.
Zebersky came from law. He earned his JD from the University of Miami School of Law, launched his own firm, and then made a turn most attorneys do not make. He told his wife he wanted to make toys. She encouraged him. He flew to China, found factories in remote corners of the country’s southern manufacturing corridors, and spent months learning how products were actually built.
The Business Behind the Brand
Jazwares grew through licensed merchandise first. Partnerships with Minecraft, Sonic the Hedgehog, Fortnite, and Pokémon gave the company consistent retail shelf presence. Acquisitions came later: Wicked Cool Toys in 2019 and Kellytoy in 2020. Kellytoy brought Squishmallows, and Squishmallows brought something that few toy brands achieve genuine cultural traction.
The soft, collectible plush characters each with a name, backstory, squishday, and bio spread across TikTok and drew in celebrity fans including Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian. More than 100 million units sold in a single year. Alleghany Capital Corporation took a majority stake in the company in 2016, and Berkshire Hathaway inherited Jazwares through its Alleghany acquisition in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Jazwares Cares, established at the company’s founding by Judd Zebersky, has donated millions of toys and maintains partnerships with Make-A-Wish, Toys for Tots, Ronald McDonald House, children’s hospitals, and Title I schools. The Zeberskys also contributed $2 million to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. David Neustein, who served as COO for 14 years, took over as CEO on March 23, 2026. See related link for more information.
Find more information about Judd Zebersky on https://toyworldmag.co.uk/jazwares-announces-departure-of-senior-leadership/