4Kids Entertainment chairman and CEO Alfred R. Kahn has retired and will be leaving the company he founded today. Director Michael Goldstein, meanwhile, steps up as interim chairman of the global entertainment and merchandise licensing company while the search for a new CEO is conducted.

Under Kahn’s 25-year leadership, 4Kids served as the merchandise licensing agent for such properties as Nintendo, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Cabbage Patch Kids.

Goldstein has been a director of 4Kids since March 2003. He previously served as chairman of the board of directors of Toys ‘R’ Us from 1997 to 2001.

Aside from setting its sights on the upcoming Yu-Gi-Oh! 3-D movie, scheduled for release in the US next month, 4Kids has been grappling with its decreasing revenues. Started last year, the company continues to explore a variety of strategic alternatives, including a review of the capital structure of the business and possible sale of all or a portion of the company’s stock or business.