Judd Zebersky Leaves Jazwares With 1,400 Employees and a Global Footprint
On March 20, 2026, Judd Zebersky formally stepped down from Jazwares, the company he founded nearly 30 years earlier. What began as a solo bet made by a lawyer with no manufacturing experience has grown into a company with approximately 1,400 employees distributing products across more than 100 countries. Zebersky’s background was in law, not toys. He earned his JD from the University of Miami School of Law and ran his own firm. In 1997, he closed that chapter and flew to China to learn how consumer products were actually made. He spent months inside factories, visiting remote manufacturing facilities in southern China, absorbing blow molding, injection molding, rotocasting, and engineering processes from workers on the floor. The experience was formative in ways that would echo through every hiring and operational decision he made afterward.
Entertainment Partnerships and the Kellytoy Acquisition
Jazwares built an early reputation on licensed products. Partnerships with Minecraft, Fortnite, and Sonic the Hedgehog put Jazwares toys in front of audiences that already had strong brand loyalty. Wicked Cool Toys joined the company through acquisition in 2019, adding Pokémon to the lineup. In 2020, Jazwares purchased Kellytoy, and with it, Squishmallows.
Squishmallows plush characters defined by their softness, their names, their squishdays, and their individual bios became a social media phenomenon at a speed that surprised even seasoned industry observers. Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian joined the fan base publicly. TikTok accelerated demand in ways traditional marketing could not replicate. More than 100 million units sold in a single year, each priced from $5 to $30.
Alleghany Capital Corporation partnered with Jazwares in 2014 and acquired a majority stake in 2016. Berkshire Hathaway took ownership of Jazwares when it purchased Alleghany in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Philanthropy as a Founding Principle
Judd Zebersky launched Jazwares Cares alongside the business itself. The charitable program has donated millions of toys through partnerships with Make-A-Wish, Toys for Tots, Ronald McDonald House, children’s hospitals, and Title I schools across the country. Zebersky and his wife separately gave $2 million to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. Jazwares earned recognition from TIME, Fast Company, and Fortune during Zebersky’s tenure. He personally received the South Florida Business Journal’s Ultimate CEOs honor in 2024. David Neustein, COO for 14 years, assumed the CEO role on March 23, 2026. Refer to this article, for related information.
Find more information about Judd Zebersky on https://www.linkedin.com/posts/university-of-miami-school-of-law_judd-and-laura-zebersky-jd-93-toymakers-activity-7249433715506843648-E0Af