{{Short description|American business executive and film producer (1963–2021)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Brian Goldner | image = Brian Goldner.jpg | image_upright = | caption = | birth_name = Brian David Goldner | birth_date = {{Birth date|1963|4|21}} | birth_place = Huntington, New York, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2021|10|11|1963|4|21}} | death_place = Barrington, Rhode Island, U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = | alma_mater = Dartmouth College | employer = | occupation = Businessman | title = | networth = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | political_party = | boards = | spouse = Barbara Goldner | children = 2 }} '''Brian David Goldner''' (April 21, 1963 – October 11, 2021) was an American business chief executive and film producer. He was the chief executive officer of the American toy and media company Hasbro from 2008 until his death.
==Early life== Goldner was born on April 21, 1963, in Huntington, New York, the son of Marjorie (Meyer), an investment adviser, and Norman Goldner, who worked at a power management company, Eaton.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/12/best-boss-09_Brian-Goldner_TGZY.html|work=Forbes|title=#209 Brian Goldner|date=April 22, 2009|access-date=August 25, 2017|archive-date=May 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503042803/https://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/12/best-boss-09_Brian-Goldner_TGZY.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name = Sandomir>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/15/business/brian-goldner-dead.html|title = Brian Goldner, Hasbro Executive With Hollywood Vision, Dies at 58|work = The New York Times|date = October 15, 2021|accessdate = October 15, 2021|last = Sandomir|first = Richard}}</ref> He attended Huntington High School and Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he majored in politics. There he practiced public speaking and was also a radio disc jockey.<ref name=projo>{{cite news|author=Paul Grimaldi|title=In charge at Hasbro|work=The Providence Journal|date=May 20, 2008|url=http://www.projo.com/news/content/NEW_HASBRO_GUY_GOLDNER_05-18-08_34A4F14_v157.2f745cb.html|accessdate=May 20, 2008|url-status = dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709053629/http://www.projo.com/news/content/NEW_HASBRO_GUY_GOLDNER_05-18-08_34A4F14_v157.2f745cb.html|archivedate=July 9, 2008}}</ref>
==Career== Goldner began his career as a marketing assistant at a healthcare firm in Long Island in 1985. In 1997, Goldner was set to head the entertainment accountant division of advertisement holding company JWT, but he was lured away by Bandai America.<ref name=projo/> While president of Bandai America from 1997 to 2000, he befriended ''Power Rangers'' creator Haim Saban.<ref name="thr">{{cite news |last1=McMillan |first1=Graeme |title=Hasbro, Saban Partner for Power Rangers Toys Starting in 2019 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/hasbro-saban-partner-power-rangers-toys-starting-spring-2019-1085401/ |access-date=27 January 2023 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=16 February 2018}}</ref>
Goldner was working at Hasbro's Tiger Electronics unit in 2000, after the company had lost 5,000 jobs.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-aug-10-fi-2027-story.html|title=Hasbro Announces Management Changes|date=August 10, 2000|access-date=October 13, 2021|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> By 2003, the company recovered on the stock market, and in 2008 Goldner became Hasbro's chief operating officer and in 2015 he was appointed chairman of the board.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner dies two days after going on medical leave |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/hasbro-ceo-brian-goldner-dies-b1937412.html |first=Namita|last=Singh|date=October 13, 2021|access-date=October 13, 2021|newspaper=The Independent |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=Rob McLean|title=Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner has died |date=October 12, 2021 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/12/business/hasbro-brian-goldner/index.html|access-date=2021-10-19 |publisher=CNN}}</ref>
He served as executive producer on the successful 2007 ''Transformers'' film adaptation, which was credited with broadening Hasbro into a character-based multimedia company. He continued this role on the 2009 films ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' and ''G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra''.<ref name=projo/> Goldner was responsible for making Hasbro a licensee of Disney's Marvel Universe characters.<ref name="Sandomir" />
Goldner compared the move of these characters to cinema during his tenure to the way they had expanded from mere adverts to television series in the 1980s. In 2012, Goldner's pay package was estimated to be around $9.68 million.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=1095883&ticker=HAS |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722062327/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=1095883&ticker=HAS |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 22, 2014 |title=Stocks |publisher=Bloomberg.com}}</ref> In 2008, the year of his promotion, Goldner was named CEO of the year by MarketWatch.<ref>{{cite news |author=Andria Cheng |title=Hasbro's chief transformer |publisher=MarketWatch |date=December 4, 2008 |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/goldner-scripts-blockbuster-hasbros-chief/story.aspx?guid={978E3D48-FCD3-4ABC-BCF6-3C0242AC1622} |accessdate=December 4, 2008}}</ref>
In 2018, Goldner drew on his friendship with Saban to acquire first the master toy license for ''Power Rangers,'' then several months later the franchise and other properties from Saban Brands for $522 million.<ref name="thr" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hipes |first1=Patrick |title=Hasbro Acquires 'Power Rangers' Brand In $522M Deal |url=https://deadline.com/2018/05/hasbro-acquires-power-rangers-haim-saban-deal-1202380227/ |access-date=27 January 2023 |work=Deadline |date=1 May 2018}}</ref>
In season 4, episode 8 of ''The Rookie'', titled "Hit and Run", was dedicated to his memory.
'''Executive Producer''' <!-- * ''G.I. Joe: Sigma 6'' (TV, 2005–2006) --> * ''Transformers'' (2007) * ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' (2009) <!-- * ''G.I. Joe: Resolute'' (TV, 2009) --> * ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' (2011) * ''Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless'' (2011) * ''Clue'' (TV, 2011–2012) * ''Transformers: Age of Extinction'' (2014) * ''Ouija'' (2014) * ''Transformers: The Last Knight'' (2017) * ''Hanazuki: Full of Treasures'' (2017) * ''Bumblebee'' (2018) * ''Power Rangers Beast Morphers'' (TV, 2019) * ''Power Rangers Dino Fury'' (TV, 2021) * ''My Little Pony: A New Generation'' (2021) * ''Transformers: Rise of the Beasts'' (2023) (posthumous release)
'''Producer''' * ''G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'' (2009) * ''Battleship'' (2012) * ''G.I. Joe: Retaliation'' (2013) * ''Jem and the Holograms'' (2015) * ''Ouija: Origin of Evil'' (2016) * ''My Little Pony: The Movie'' (2017) * ''Snake Eyes'' (2021) * ''Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves'' (2023) (posthumous release)
==Personal life== Goldner married Barbara, a social worker.<ref name="providenceoverdoseepidemic">{{cite news|last1=Arditi|first1=Lynn|title=Overdose Epidemic: Hasbro CEO, wife say R.I. Hospital failed their son|url=http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20160309/NEWS/160309287|accessdate=May 2, 2018|work=Providence Journal|date=March 9, 2016}}</ref> The couple had a daughter, Brooke, and a son, Brandon, who died in 2015.<ref name="providenceoverdoseepidemic"/> In 2017, a park playground in Providence, Rhode Island, was renamed "Brandon's Beach".<ref name="providencejournalbrandonsbeach">{{cite news|last1=Miller|first1=G. Wayne|title='Brandon's Beach' honors late son of Barbara and Brian Goldner, Hasbro CEO|url=http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20170511/brandons-beach-honors-late-son-of-barbara-and-brian-goldner-hasbro-ceo|accessdate=May 2, 2018|work=Providence Journal|date=May 11, 2017}}</ref>
In August 2020, Goldner disclosed that he had prostate cancer and had been receiving treatment for this condition since 2014.<ref name="AP-Obit">{{cite news |last1=D'Innocenzio |first1=Anne |title=Brian Goldner, who led transformation a Hasbro, dies at 58 |url=https://apnews.com/article/business-hasbro-inc-brian-goldner-rhode-island-324aa984129d48923002440b31e71609 |access-date=October 13, 2021 |work=AP NEWS |date=October 12, 2021 |language=en |quote=Hasbro did not give a cause of death, but Goldner disclosed in August 2020 that he had been undergoing treatment for cancer since 2014.}} </ref> He took an immediate leave of absence as CEO of Hasbro for medical reasons on October 10, 2021, and died a day later, at his home in Barrington, Rhode Island, at age 58.<ref name = Sandomir/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211012006149/en/Hasbro-Announces-the-Passing-of-Beloved-Leader-and-Longtime-Chairman-CEO-Brian-D.-Goldner|title=Hasbro Announces the Passing of Beloved Leader and Longtime Chairman & CEO Brian D. Goldner|date=October 12, 2021|website=www.businesswire.com}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|2131060}} * {{Discogs artist|Brian Goldner}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldner, Brian}} Category:1963 births Category:2021 deaths Category:20th-century American Jews Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:21st-century American Jews Category:21st-century American businesspeople Category:American chief executives in the manufacturing industry Category:American chief operating officers Category:Dartmouth College alumni Category:Deaths from prostate cancer in Rhode Island Category:Film producers from New York (state) Category:People from Barrington, Rhode Island Category:People from Huntington, New York Category:Hasbro people