Skydance announces leadership for combined company
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Paramount chair and CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz on Monday announced the new leadership team for Skydance, the name of the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery company when the merger closes.
- Senior WBD leadership, including CEO David Zaslav, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, and revenue and strategy chief Bruce Campbell were not mentioned in the announcement.
Why it matters: Skydance's new leadership will be tasked with executing Ellison's vision after a grueling, drawn out merger process.
Zoom in: The team includes several expected names from Paramount's C-suite, including Redbird's Andy Gordon as president, Dennis Cinelli as chief financial officer, former Justice Department antitrust head Makan Delrahim as chief legal officer and president of global corporate affairs, Rebecca Mall as chief marketing officer, Dane Glasgow as chief product officer anda Melissa Zukerman as chief communications officer.
- Ellison, Kreiz and Gordon will also serve on Skydance's board of directors, with Ellison as chairman.
- Ellison will focus "long-term strategy, creative vision and direction, including its talent relationships, strategic partnerships, technology and capital allocation," according to a statement, while Kreiz will focus onm day-to-day management and integration of the combined business.
- Gordon will work closely with both to advance strategic priorities.
State of play: Leadership of the combined company's editorial, streaming and studios divisions includes a mix of executives from both companies, although most WBD leaders are exiting.
- HBO's Casey Bloys will become co-chair and chief content officer of Skydance's streaming division, which includes Paramount+ and HBO Max. Cindy Holland, who most recently served as Paramount's chair of direct-to-consumer, is exiting.
- JB Perrette, who led streaming for WBD, will Bloys as co-chair and chief business officer of Skydance's direct-to-consumer division. He will also be co-chair and chief business officer of Skydance TV.
- Paramount's head of TV George Cheeks will remain as co-chair of Skydance TV, alongside Perrette, as well as chief content officer. Channing Dungey, who led Warner Bros. Television Group and U.S. networks, is not part of the new leadership team.
- Paramount Pictures' film co-chairs, Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg will lead Skydance Motion Picture Group, overseeing both movie studios. The co-CEOs of the current Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca, will exit.
- James Gunn and Peter Safran will remain as co-chairs of DC Studios, overseeing the Superman franchise and more.
The intrigue: The announcement leaves the current head of each news network's leadership teams intact.
- Bari Weiss will continue as CBS editor-in-chief.
- Mark Thompson will be chairman and editor-in-chief of CNN Worldwide. He was chairman and CEO of the network under WBD's ownership.
What's next: The deal is expected to close Tuesday.
