Jerry Calabrese resigns as President and CEO of Lionel

He's going to focus on other "personal interests" including Billboard Magazine??  Wow, I had no idea Lionel and Billboard were owned by the same company.  

- Mike

Spoken like a true gentleman.  He will be missed.

Art

Interesting that it's a week before York. Wonder if Lionel is making an announcement on a successor next week? 

I think we all saw this coming. It was simply a matter of time. He indeed had the reigns at Lionel during some very troublesome times and we should all wish him well in his next position.

His successor is already in place.  Howard Hitchcock.  (He may not hold the title CEO, but it was made pretty clear I think that he was to be in charge, and mostly has been once they brought him into Lionel)

He did extraordinarily well indeed, by any metric.  When he was appointed, a few folks with a longstanding animus to Lionel came up with unflattering sobriquets like "comic book man," in reference to his time at Marvel Comics.  Boy did he prove them wrong big time . 

A number of well known additions to Lionel's staff, now amongst the leaders in the industry,  occurred on his watch, such as Mike R. and Jon Z.,  and others I don't know about.  Calabrese's team unequivocally brought Lionel back to the leadership position in the three rail world,  from the standpoints of product diversity and technical innovation.  I wish him the best in the next stage of his life.

Jerry will be missed.  He was at the helm of Lionel, taking the company through a very rough economic period and did so quite successfully.  I always enjoyed the interviews with Jerry.  Best of luck to you.

Steve, Lady and Tex

I am grateful for the time Jerry Calabrese spent leading Lionel.   He has left it in better shape and with many exciting products.   I wish him good luck in his future endevors. 

Wow! Certainly, a little added interest as we approach York Week.

Peter

Goodbye to Lionel

When I alluded to this on the forum a short time ago, there was strong disagreement on the subject. Now that it has come to fruition all we can do is wish Jerry Calabrese well in his future endeavors. Jerry will be known as the CEO that successfully guided Lionel though bankruptcy and onto firm financial footing. He was there when Lionel developed many innovative new products including the state-of-the-art Legacy system  Now a new era begins and perhaps a different direction will emerge. 

I can only wish him the best.  He sailed the company through perilous seas and made it bigger and better.  I hope his successors keep up the good work he began.

I agree that Lionel has come out of the last decade much stronger & better with Jerry at the helm.  The aforementioned "comic man jabs" & the argument of 3rd party TMCC development getting quashed during his time with Lionel by taking over ERR & RS4 component availability contributing to the closing of DD's doors & the rather enigmatic fading away of TAS (to be fair, the process was already in place prior to Jerry with Lionel taking over IC Controls) were well-known criticisms of his leadership.  But when it's all said & done, he was brought in to keep Lionel a going concern & maintain profitability for Guggenheim during Lionel's most challenging & troubling times in recent history.  And to that end, he and his team accomplished what he set out to do, with a continuing variety of products and technical innovations and a parts & service department that's head and shoulders above how it used to be.

Best of luck to him in his future endeavors. 

Odd timing.....York next week will have lots to talk about!!!

Good luck Jerry.

Another item for us all to talk about at York!  I agree, he leaves the company in much better shape than he found it.

Didn't they also say that at the end of the postwar period?  Hard to imagine that Guggenheim, let alone Lionel, would be so naive as to have another Roy Cohn-type at the helm again, at least not consciously.

All in favor of Mike Reagan as CEO say I!!!!! And thank you Jerry for your leadership and wisdom best wishes!!!!

I'll vote for Mike, as well!!!!

Interesting, while he never really connected with the "Train Guys" he did lead the company through a period most others would have declared bankruptcy and run. Not only did he save Lionel he put it way back on top of the O-Gauge world.

Since he has been pretty quiet for the last year or so, and we know that Howard Hitchcock seems to be a strong leader, I think Lionel is in great hands for the future.

We gotta keep Mike where he's at, "in the field" getting things done.

What about this guy? 

Hes right up there with Mike in regards to what he's done for Lionel 

While I like Mike, I think he is right where we need him. CEO's are a different animal these days, no longer does the factory worker grow through the ranks to be the big guy

Thank you Jerry for doing a good job helping Lionel work through those troubling years, it surely wasn't easy, but you did help Lionel pull into how good it is right now.

Thanks for posting this Allan. Between this forum and your GREAT magazine, we all keep up to the minute on updates. I wish the best to Jerry and thank him for all of the work and time that he spent on this LIONEL project.

Was out of the hobby when Jerry came on and was not familiar with him at all. Why someone would consider heading Marvel Comics as a put down is beyond me   Any company that has been around a long time (I read marvel comics as a boy in the early 50s) is nothing to disparage, no sir. When I had a retail hobby store back in the late 1980s - early 90's comic books were a big business. We didn't handle them directly but I knew people with comic book stores.

Sounds like Jerry did a great job holding Lionel together through the mess and did indeed leave it in good shape. Like Dick Kughn before him, they both brought Lionel 'back from the brink' so to speak! A lot can happen in 10 years..

Jerry did a great job at Lionel.  CEO's come and go, and after they are gone, you hope the next person moves the company forward and not backwards.

Wow, this is crushing news. Jerry is leaving at a high point of the Lionel business. He has  brought so much the table and has really out performed, in my mind, many previous CEO's.

I hope the next person can grow the business and keep the product development, and quality to our expectations. Being a very difficult group that we are. 

What was the lawsuit all about?

Yep, succeeding Jerry will be Mr Michael Wolf, who announces that effective immediately Lionel name will be obliterated and henceforth, everything including the acquired Ives and American Flyer names and products will be rebranded MTH.

Oh boy, don't ask!!  Basically as I understood it.  MTH accused Lionel of copying/using ther molds at the South Korean factory.  Lionel and MTH went round and round and then Lionel settled with MTH on some kind of terms that seems to have MTH making Lionel products now.

No doubt this may not be correct entirely, but there were threads on this forum running for pages discussing this point or that.  It was enough to give you an Excedrin headache trying to distill the facts.

Hope someone can point back to LocoLawyer postings for Willygee enlightenment.

You can add the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dick Clark Productions, the Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA) and many others to the list of companies under Guggenheim Partners management.  It's a well-run organization with superb management.  Lionel is in elite company.

Bob Osterhoff

www.trainpaper.com

All you'd ever want to know about it.

MTH's side of the story

Inc. Article

US Court of Appeals Decision

The final word:

In late 2007 Lionel and MTH settled their long-term fight over trade secrets and patent infringements. In March 2008 the court approved a settlement that includes a one time cash payment to MTH. The payment will take place soon after Lionel exits bankruptcy. The details of the settlement are under court seal.

I too will miss Jerry, I think he's done a lot for Lionel, I am a bit shocked, but I guess 10 years is a good term for a CEO; Dick Kughn was at Lionel for 9-10 years? Is Howard Hitchcock the new CEO or just temporary? 

I think the most we can do besides wish Jerry well, is just wait and see and hope for the best.

edit: sorry 10, not 14 years

Best of luck Jerry!!  He kept the company going and profitable with new products.  That is the bottom line.  Hopefully the next CEO will take Lionel to the next level.

Wow, this is a Big Surprise to lots of Lionel Train Enthusiasts. I must Say a Big Thank You to Jerry, a man that had a Really Almost Impossible Mission to Accomplish, and he Ran the Race to the End and Lionel is the Winner. Yes, I wish him the Very Best at his new Career...Lionel will always be an American ICON. Baseball, Apple Pie, Chevrolet,

and Lionel Trains...Thank You Jerry Calabrese!!!

Very well said John, He was the right man at the right time to get Lionel back on a finical base and back on the track, I thank him for that and wish him a great future.  

   I like Neil, he is a very good guy, one of the best. i Had the pleasure of meeting him and showing him the MTH Trains at the MTH booth at Cal Stewart a few years back when I was stationed in L.A, even got him to sign a MTH catalog However, my pick would be Mr. Reagan For CEO, Why, He knows the business  inside and out and he has a good sense of humor as seen at the OGR Grandstand get together at York. He has proven his skills many times with Lionel. I am very impressed with the man.

John Pignatelli

That's not as far fetched as it may seem.

Thank Jerry for your time well spent.  Good luck to you. 

While he may not have stayed for the entire Meet, Jerry did attend a few OGR Forum grandstand meetings.

Best to Jerry in his future.  Thank you for your contributions to the hobby.

Too make it perfectly clear.. I could care less if he ever attended a single York, he had the CEO skills and business smarts to run a successful company and to have to grow while others were failing.

Sure Maury Klein and Walter Mausch were "Train Guys" put where are they now? Atlas O can best be described as stagnant and MTH is no longer driving the industry like they were 10-15 years ago. By being a good CEO and knowing to surround himself with "Train Guys" he did exactly what was needed when it was needed.

Best wishes and many thanks to Jerry.  Those of us on the forum love our hobby .  I am of the opinion that an 8 or 9 year old child will learn way more skills with model railroading than with, say an X Box.  Some of the editorials by Alan Miller over the last few years give a blue print on how to grow our hobby.  We need strong local hobby shops that provide service. Lets hope the next CEO has the time to help move that distribution channel to the next level. Hopefully, the new CEO will spend some time at OGR Headquarters to look, listen and learn.

In retail, the old saying goes, if you are not growing, you are dying.  I do thank Jerry for all his work at Lionel to keep the kid in me still alive! 

And the name Lionel remains front and center in the toy train world. 

Best wishes to Jerry and thanks for his astute guidance during his presence There.

Darn Jerry, your leaving the job unfinished...

I guess we can now give up on our hopes for the release of the long awaited climatic conclusion to the Lionelville DVD series "Destination Adventure"

I found this statement at Vault.com:

Following its reorganization, Guggenheim Investment Management LLC owns about 48% of Lionel while Train Acquisition LLC owns about 28%. Senior management owns the rest.

I wonder if Jerry Calabrese still owns part of the company?  Who are the other "Senior Management" (does Neil Young still own any of it)?

"I wonder if Jerry Calabrese still owns part of the company?  Who are the other "Senior Management" (does Neil Young still own any of it)?"

Yes and yes to ownership, according to news releases at the time of the reorganization.  Not sure who else amongst senior management owns portions of the company.  Since Lionel is not publicly traded these details don't have to be revealed as they would for any Securities and Exchange Commission regulated entity.

I'm putting my hat in the ring on behalf of Mike "The Mikado" Reagan; friend of the industry and Possessor of Infinite Knowledge!

There is an old saying:  "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing."  The problem in many hobbies, including ours, is that there are people involved who are, in their own way knowledgeable about certain aspects of the hobby:  wiring and relays (Dale), repairing the new electronic locos (gunrunnerjohn, GGG), layout masters (frank53, passengertrain collector, the marketing whiz for OGR). I could go on, but you get the idea.  These folks are exceptionally knowledgeable, but that might not, and actually in many cases would likely not, translate into running Lionel successfully because there is a different skill set involved with  people who understand what it takes to run and expand a business.  Marketing is a key skill, as is the ability to be dispassionate enough about the trains not to get too bogged down in the smaller details -- for example, whether a detail is perfectly scale or prototypical.  (Just to be 100% clear, I am not belittling people who want that type of thing -- that is a perfectly respectable part of this hobby, I am just making the point that such interest does not translate into qualifications to be the Lionel CEO.)  I believe that Mr. Calabrese was a person who knows how to run a business -- his track record speaks for itself, while at the same time being sensible and self-confident enough enough to surround himself with the appropriate people in supporting roles.  This gave Lionel the savvy it needed from a business perspective while retaining a good grasp on what the most passionate demographics of its client base wanted.  In a simlar way, Joshua Lionel Cowen was not originally a train enthusiast but as many of you know, an inventor, marketing genius and overall savvy businessman.  My opinion is that he was too old to really help Lionel when the country changed in the late 1950s into the 1960s, but had he been in his prime he likely would have figured out a way to keep the business alive, because he did that in the 1930s during the Great Depression.

That's a long way of saying it is not really all that relevant a critique of Jerry Calabrese to say that he didn't attend York.  He didn't need to.  He did a great job and the company is in much better shape now than it was when he arrived.  Now all of us long-time Lionel fans -- people like me who are rooting for the company to get things right -- just need to continue to push the company to get the manufacturing situation straightened out and the quality where it needs to be. 

Allan, 

How about asking Mr. Calabrese if he would sit for an "exit interview" for OGR. I for one would love to hear how he saw the last ten years.

Brad

Interesting that it's a week before York. Wonder if Lionel is making an announcement on a successor next week? 

A second press release from NC should be forth coming later this week.

Good post by RAL, and right on target in my opinion.

By the way, Jerry did attend the York Meet--not on a regular basis, but on several occasions.  I'm certainly glad he did because otherwise I would not have had the pleasure of meeting and talking with him.

Thank you for the information Mr. Miller

I think Lionel will be just fine, I hope!

Maybe not every time, but he certainly showed up to give opening comments and kick off the presentations at the TCA museum on several occasions. 

This might have been more in the early years of his tenure, but I still think he's been there at least on the sidelines to observe recently.

-Dave

Gee, we're all lamenting the fact that Jerry wasn't around for every York.  I like to think he was back at the ranch keeping the place running, and it appears he did that very well.

RAL indeed said it best, he didn't have to be a model train junkie to keep the Lionel ship afloat, he just had to be a good executive and businessman, apparently he was both.  I know I'd run the ship on the rocks as soon as I took the wheel, so I'm not applying for the job.

100% spot on.  While obviously the thought of him being a real model train enthusiast in addition to being a business man like Richard Kuhn or Mike Wolf has obvious appeal and can certainly be perceived as advantageous, there simply is no need for a company President/CEO to be both.  In fact, it's much, much better in that position to be the businessman head and shoulders above being an enthusiast.

He did the smart thing to be sure; surround himself with competent staff that could handle the "enthusiast" side of things to translate what the consumers want and he gave the company something that's essential for any company head to do:  Provide direction.

Mike is good at what he does, but I don't think he's the right man to run the company.

It's also possible that Mike may not even have the desire to run Lionel even if they offered the position to him in the first place.

Jerry Calabrese did a great job at Lionel. Part of this is hiring guys like Mike Reagan.

Good Job Jerry, thanks for your hard work.

Some very good testimonials on this topic, and I agree that Jerry was the one to guide Lionel through the very mixed up complexity that was happening at the time he took over.  Incidentally, in addition to the lawsuits between MTH and Lionel, there was also a lawsuit and settlement that involved K-Line trains.

I must say that when I saw the handwriting on the wall that Lionel was starting to relocate itself to North Carolina, I knew that Jerry and his staff in New York was to be short-lived.   He's a New Yorker and wasn't going to get involved with operations in other locations.  And as Lionel began to assemble all of it's operations in NC, it became apparent that, first Lionel-Ohio and then New York would move and next, the Michigan operations.  They can be much more efficient operating in just one location.

Now let's hope that first the economy and then the market for toy trains comes back strong enough to make all this new planning worthwhile.  All manufacturers are struggling to survive these times.

Paul Fischer

After leaving the Model train world for a time, before all the turmoil I rejoined recently and saw a vast improvement and have to thank the man in charge for saving Lionel. I was amazed at how far Lionel had come since my departure back in the 1990's, and am glad to be back. 

I'm sorry to see Jerry Calabrese leave Lionel.  I believe, he has been a very

effective,  guiding President and CEO of the company.  Some of the opinions

and speculations regarding his leaving at this time, of course, are only that. 

Only he knows, but he can feel confident that he leaves Lionel, in better shape than when he took over.

Best to him.

George    

Does anyone have information on how much of Lionel is now NASCAR models vs. trains?  I expect that the NASCAR business provides a lot of cash flow that helps to stabilize Lionel.

Allen as others have suggested would you consider an "exit" interview with Jerry?

I personally believe Lionel has some kind of special blessing it seems that when it's in BIG trouble someone comes in to help it out, i.e. Richard Kuhn, etc.

I was getting back into the hobby as a result of the urging of my young sons, one who is now 11 when Jerry was President and it all started for me with the release of the "El Capitan" set. It brought back memories as my Dad was a railfan and we rode on one of the last trips from Chicago to California I was a little guy but I still have vivid memories of that trip.

As a medical resident I got to relive that memory again as there was a Dinner Train operating out of Indianapolis that was made up of the El Capitan and a drug company took us out on an excursion ride.

Anyway I like how Lionel has under the direction Jerry C. risen from near ashes to take its place as one of the premier electric train companies again.

I hope he accepts your offer if you so feel compelled and would look very forward to reading the interview in OGR

Thank you Jerry 

Best wishes always!!!

I have a big question:  Should the President and CEO be the same person.  Might save some money.  But the CEO can watch things at the shop, and the President can go to York.  Like Ricker watching things on ENTERPRISE D, and Picard doing Federation stuff on STAR TREK:  THE NEXT GENERATION.

Gentlemen,

    I do believe we will all look back on this with great regret as time goes bye.

Jerry was a very good business man, which Lionel still needs at this particular time.

Guggenheim Partners just lost a seriously good business manager at Lionel.

PCRR/Dave

Good point Dale! Lionel Trains are mere "chump change" when compared to the massive market of NASCAR. NASCAR probably makes more money on T shirts alone than Lionel and MTH combined

Well if Mr. Hitchcock knows were to get a reliable Lionel smoke fan motor made, that would be a HUGE improvement over JC, IMO

With all respect I don't think he has to connect with the "true" hobbyist. An excellent CEO has the type of staff that can keep him informed about that.

At the same time the needs of the company as specialized as Lionel requires special handling and I think he did fine in light of the fact that you are dealing more and more with a shrinking customer base. If NASCAR is bringing in the $$ to help support the train aspect of the hobby that's OK too as long as everyone is committed to keeping the trains running at Lionel.

A lot of other "famous" named companies are doing similar things, i.e. Remington, Smith and Wesson, Glock etc; they just don't produce guns they have knives, binoculars, T-Shirts, Clothing, etc

I think Lionel and everybody else needs to take a lesson from Hunter Harrison, present leader of CP.

He may not have people skills.  But there is a point I do agree on.  If the CEO and the leaders of X railroad do not have some actual connection with the railroad and its product, they are worthless.  Under Hunter, leaders have to learn to run trains.

In a toymakers case, I would say the CEO and leaders have to take time, and learn the products.  PLAY WITH IT.  feel the frustration of something in a set breaking and the Hobby Shop is closed.  Work World's Greatest Hobby.  Get kicked in the mental privates.  Learn to do your job within the context of the companies product.

Who will be the CEO based in NY?  The president isn't necessarily the CEO?  If Hitchcock is both then who will work out of the NY office?

One more point to consider: the "true hobbyists" do not make up the majority of Lionel's sales. If you're the CEO of a company it doesn't make good business sense - nor is it in the best long term interests of the company - to spend the majority of your time listening to a small but vocal part of your customer base. This would make about as much sense as the CEO of Chevrolet only paying attention to Corvette owners or the CEO of Mattel only paying attention to Barbie collectors. Whine all you want about starter sets, Polar Express, LionChief, etc. but it's that and not the Vision stuff that keeps Lionel in business. 

Spot-on, Seattle, I'll drink to that.

     Hoppy

As I posted on the thread "Mfrs Presentations at TCA Museum, Strasburg" Mr. Hitchcock said the New York office has been closed.  The company is consolidating all its core expertise in North Carolina. 

I should add that Mr. Hitchcock was introduced as "President and CEO of Lionel" so he is it as far as where the buck stops.  I was very impressed that so soon after taking over he took the time to come to Strasburg and talk to us and with us.   

Obviously  I have no idea what the owners think of his stewardship but in my book he did a great job.  I don't subscribe to the idea that a CEO has to bring prior experience or product knowledge.  However he does have to have the smarts to surround himself with the experts, and to actually listen to them.  If I am not mistaken he came to Lionel from the comic book industry with no model train experience.  And he is leaving Lionel in great shape, lots of new products, all of which in a still weak economy and thru some very troubling times legally.

I hope his replacement continues the progress and advances Lionel even further.

Ed

The time is now, for Reagan.

Ronald Reagan???

That would be great.    Oh?   We're not talking politics here?

never mind....

I've been going to York for 20+ years, and with the exception of Jerry C, I've always found it easy to speak to ANYONE at any train company. They were there and accessible.

I was glad to be able to talk to Howard Hitchcock if only to wish him the best with his stewardship of Lionel. He was accessible and conversant.

No matter how good anyone thinks he or she is, we have ears for a reason. To think you couldn't learn SOMETHING from speaking to devoted hobbyists in your industry, even if only twice a year, is idiocy.

Gerry

"To think you couldn't learn SOMETHING from speaking to devoted hobbyists in your industry, even if only twice a year, is idiocy."

To assume that Calabrese wasn't listening to hobbyists, either directly or indirectly, because he didn't have a chance to talk with you personally isn't exactly insightful.

York is important, but it isn't the entirety of Lionel's business by a long shot.  While there are 30,000+ TCA members and perhaps a few thousand attendees at York, there are likely at least 100,000 customers who buy Lionel train sets each year, and they have  needs and desires that differ from the York crowd. Calabrese did a fantastic job bringing innovation and whizzy products to the hobbyist and that's what constitutes 99% of my evaluation of his work.

Here's what Neil Young wrote about Calabrese a few years ago on this forum:

"Jerry Calabrese is a creative visionary and an excellent partner to work with, shepherding Lionel through these tough economic times. The future looks bright to me."

I read Neil Young's Book recently. I was quite impressed as no sooner are you on page 1 of his book and he starts talking about Lionel.

I always liked Neil Young as a muscian. When he teamed up with Lionel and rolled up his sleeves and helped out i liked him even more.

He has kind words for Jerry and that is OK by me!!!