Making Beautiful Music at Mattel

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Mattel Inc. Chief Executive Bryan Stockton was what he calls a “basement musician.” He enjoyed playing the guitar, but rarely played publicly. That changed a couple of weeks ago when colleagues asked him to accompany Michelle de Armas, also of Mattel, in recording a couple of country songs.

The songs – one original and one cover – were recorded in a studio at company headquarters in El Segundo for use in a human resources video the company is putting together.

“They wanted to do something a little bit different, and we haven’t had a CEO play guitar, so they thought it’d be something different,” Stockton said.

But Stockton, 58, faced a few challenges. First, he had never recorded a song. Second, he had never met de Armas, who heads Mattel’s leadership development.

“It’s hard enough for artists to work together when they don’t know each other,” he said. “It’s got to be even more difficult when you’re co-workers.”

Despite those challenges, he said the recording session went smoothly.

“It was the most fun I’ve had this week,” he said. “I’m sure we have a new hit single coming out sometime!”

Baseball Dad

Most dads celebrate Father’s Day at low-key family gatherings or dinners. Not Steven Regis.

Twice in the last three years, Regis – an executive with Glendora-based cement company CalPortland Co. – has spent Father’s Day weekend at the College World Series, cheering on his son, Cody, a junior who plays infield or designated hitter for the UCLA Bruins.

Two years ago, the Bruins made it to the final round, giving Regis plenty to cheer about. This year, the Bruins only made it to the second round in Omaha, Neb., before being eliminated by the Florida State Seminoles. But it turned out to be a high-profile experience June 17, Father’s Day.

“The organizers chose two players from the UCLA team to broadcast Father’s Day greetings live on the Jumbotron for all the fans to see, and my son was one of them,” said Regis, 56. “That was kind of cool.”

But it soon got even higher profile. A friend of the Regis family sent him an e-mail with a “screen grab” photo from ESPN’s national telecast of the game. In the photo, Regis and his wife, Betsy, can be seen in their Bruins T-shirts cheering on UCLA. In front of them, one of their other children is holding up a photo of Cody.

“It was a really odd feeling to be watching the game live in person and having people text me and e-mail me as they were watching the game at home in different parts of the country,” he said. “But when I saw that photo of us, that was the best feeling.”

Staff reporters Bethany Firnhaber and Howard Fine contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].

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