PA Plastics SourceNet Symposium
Michael Araten
President and COO, K’NEX Brands
Michael Araten joined K’NEX and the Rodon Group in May 2005 to serve as their vice president and general counsel, and assumed his present position in January 2006. K’NEX Brands manufactures and/or distributes toys under the K’NEX, KID K’NEX, Lincoln Logs and BRIO brands, and manufactures high volume precision molded plastic parts for the pharmaceutical, medical, construction, food and many other industries.
Prior to joining K’NEX and Rodon, Mr. Araten served as senior vice president and corporate counsel to O’Neill Properties Group, as well as chief litigation counsel to Toll Brothers, Inc. In those capacities, Mr. Araten was responsible for risk management, regulatory approvals, human resource issues and the management of over 100 law firms in 21 states. Mr. Araten also formed numerous joint ventures, led due diligence and acquisition teams, and obtained land development approvals that created over one billion ($1 billion) in new home sales and land value.
Mr. Araten has been interviewed about toy industry issues, strategic alliances, and U.S. manufacturing, and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, and the Philadelphia Business Journal, along with numerous local newspapers. He has also appeared on The Today Show, Fox News, various radio shows and broadcasts and industry Web sites.
Mr. Araten is a founding member of a Vistage group in suburban Philadelphia. Vistage is the largest CEO organization in the country.