Hi there, If I'm honest, the Pinocchio movie gave me the creeps because of the coachman, Stromboli, and the transformation of the children into donkeys, I hated him since I was a child.
After watching the Playful Land's Miraculous Marionettes event, I have the theory that the man who was Ernesto and Gino's boss was inspired by the Coachman and Stromboli, or well, a combination of both. I have my reasons to believe it.
In the first half of the movie, honest John and Gideon sold Pinocchio to Stromboli, and in the other half, they both fear the Coachman, as he has no remorse when threatening them, nor does he feel remorse for the transformed children when he sells them into forced labor. So, Ernesto and Gino's boss could be someone equal to or worse than both villains. Or, in the worst case scenario, he could be the one who built Playful Land, the Marionettes and he probably threatened Ernesto and Gino before the events to get them to do his bidding (as the Coachman did), only for him to later belittle Ernesto and not give him or Gino a penny.