Thomas Kalinske (born July 17, 1944) is an American businessman who has worked for Mattel (1972–1987), Matchbox (1987-1990), Sega of America (1990–1996) and LeapFrog (1997–2006).

At Mattel, Kalinske was credited with reviving the Barbie and Hot Wheels brands, launching Masters of the Universe, then being promoted to CEO from 1985 to 1987.

He is Chairman of Mixed Dimensions, a 3D printing company, and on the boards of Stitched Insights, Adjunct Professor Link, Storyworld, the University of Wisconsin School of Business and Teach The World Foundation.

He implemented plans to cut costs by moving production to more labor-cheap regions in Asia, and by 1990, the company had managed to turn a profit for the first time in years, with a revenue of over $350 million.

[citation needed] His market strategies have been cited as the key factor in breaking Nintendo's dominance of the video game industry, added greatly by a strategic partnership that Kalinske developed with Blockbuster CEO Joe Baczko and Blockbuster's Retail Strategy Officer Mark Allen Stuart.

According to Oregon Business in 2011, the company was "the largest single private provider of early childhood education services in the country", with 40,000 employees on three continents and the biggest market share in the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Singapore.

The story is formulated in a third person narrative, which was assembled based on more than two hundred interviews carried out by the author with former Sega and Nintendo employees.