Judd Zebersky’s first act was in law. He earned a JD from the University of Miami School of Law, passed the bar, and launched his own practice. His second act, beginning in the late 1990s, took him somewhere considerably more unexpected: manufacturing plants in rural southern China, where he spent months learning how toys were made.
The choice came down to a candid conversation with his wife. “I looked at my wife, and I said, ‘I want to make toys,'” Judd Zebersky said. “She said, ‘Follow your dreams,’ and that’s what I did.”
Building Jazwares From the Ground Up
What Zebersky learned in China was hands-on and detailed. He studied injection molding, blow molding, rotocasting, and hair rooting. He traveled to factories on roads where, as he put it, entire families navigated on a single motorcycle. That technical education shaped how Jazwares recruited engineers and designers in subsequent years, giving the company founder-level operational depth from its earliest days.
Licensed toys gave Jazwares its initial foothold. Partnerships with Minecraft, Fortnite, and Sonic the Hedgehog built the company’s catalog and shelf presence. Acquisitions came later: Wicked Cool Toys in 2019, then Kellytoy in 2020. Kellytoy delivered two valuable assets, a Pokémon license and the Squishmallows brand, the latter becoming one of the most talked-about toys of the early 2020s.
Squishmallows, Berkshire Hathaway, and a Leadership Transition
Squishmallows spread through TikTok and drew celebrity collectors including Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian. More than 100 million sold in a single year at retail prices between $5 and $30. Alleghany Capital Corporation took a majority stake in Jazwares in 2016 after initially investing in 2014. Berkshire Hathaway became the parent company through its Q4 2022 acquisition of Alleghany.
Judd Zebersky stepped down as CEO on March 20, 2026. David Neustein, his longtime COO, assumed the role three days later. Zebersky also leaves behind Jazwares Cares, the philanthropic arm he established at the company’s founding, which has donated millions of toys to hospitals, schools, and organizations including Make-A-Wish and Toys for Tots. Visit this page on LinkedIn, for related information.
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