The $110 billion combination will operate under the Skydance name, with David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz leading an executive team spanning film, television, streaming, DC Studios, and news.
The leadership structure of the new entertainment giant created by Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is coming into focus. The combined company will be named Skydance when the transaction closes, with a new executive team overseeing some of the biggest operations in film, television, streaming and news.
David Ellison will remain Chairman and CEO, while former Mattel Chairman and CEO Ynon Kreiz will serve as Co-CEO. Together, they will oversee a company bringing Paramount, Warner Bros., HBO, HBO Max, Paramount+, CBS, CNN, DC Studios and dozens of other entertainment brands and businesses under one corporate organization.
The Skydance name will serve as the combined company's corporate identity, while Paramount and Warner Bros. will remain distinct entertainment brands. Skydance Corporation will become the company's legal name when the transaction closes October 6.
Casey Bloys will become Co-Chair and Chief Content Officer of Skydance DTC, overseeing original programming for HBO Max and Paramount+ as well as strategy and operations across the company's streaming platforms.
George Cheeks will serve as Co-Chair and Chief Content Officer of Skydance TV. This division will include Warner Bros. Television Studios, CBS Studios, Paramount Television Studios, CBS, the company's sports operations and more than 50 cable networks and brands.
JB Perrette, moving over from Warner Bros. Discovery, will serve as Co-Chair and Chief Business Officer of both Skydance TV and Skydance DTC, with responsibilities including global distribution, advertising sales, content sales, direct-to-consumer strategy and business operations.
Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein will jointly oversee the Skydance Motion Picture Group as co-chairs, while James Gunn and Peter Safran will remain in charge of DC Studios.
Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy are set to depart as the merger moves toward completion.
The company is also maintaining separate leadership for its two major news organizations. Mark Thompson will remain Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of CNN Worldwide, while Bari Weiss will continue as Editor-in-Chief of CBS News. Both will report to Ellison and Kreiz under separate reporting structures intended to preserve the editorial independence of the two news organizations.
"I'm incredibly proud to introduce the team that will lead Skydance forward, a group that reflects the ambition behind this historic combination," Ellison said.
The announcement comes a little more than a year after Paramount began pursuing Warner Bros. Discovery and follows Ellison's $8.4 billion acquisition of Paramount through Skydance. The Paramount-Warner Bros. transaction has been valued at approximately $110 billion.
The leadership structure began taking shape last week when Kreiz was named Co-CEO alongside Ellison. Kreiz spent more than eight years leading Mattel and previously served as CEO of Endemol, bringing decades of experience managing entertainment companies and intellectual property.
The two executives will divide their responsibilities as the companies are integrated. Ellison will focus on Skydance's long-term strategy, creative vision and direction, talent relationships, strategic partnerships, technology and capital allocation. Kreiz will concentrate on the company's day-to-day management and integration of the combined businesses.
Andy Gordon, who has been named President, will work closely with both executives on the company's strategic priorities.
Kreiz said the company's goals include establishing Skydance as a leading home for storytellers, accelerating its direct-to-consumer business and making greater use of technology across its operations.
One of the biggest questions surrounding the merger has been who would oversee the combined streaming operation. That picture became clearer when Cindy Holland, Paramount's Chair of Direct-to-Consumer, announced that she would leave the company ahead of the transaction's completion.
Bloys, currently Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content, will become one of the key executives responsible for the new company's direct-to-consumer business, while Perrette will share leadership responsibilities for the business side of both streaming and television.
The structure keeps several of the combined company's most recognizable creative and editorial operations under established leadership, including HBO under Bloys, DC Studios under Gunn and Safran, CNN under Thompson and CBS News under Weiss.
Skydance's announced leadership structure includes:
Enterprise Leadership
- David Ellison - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
- Ynon Kreiz - Co-Chief Executive Officer
Corporate Leadership
- Andy Gordon - President
- Dennis Cinelli - Chief Financial Officer
- Makan Delrahim - Chief Legal Officer and President, Global Corporate Affairs
- Dane Glasgow - Chief Product Officer
- Rebecca Mall - Chief Marketing Officer
- Melissa Zukerman - Chief Communications Officer
Business Leadership
- Casey Bloys - Co-Chair and Chief Content Officer, Skydance DTC
- George Cheeks - Co-Chair and Chief Content Officer, Skydance TV
- Dana Goldberg - Co-Chair, Skydance Motion Picture Group
- Josh Greenstein - Co-Chair, Skydance Motion Picture Group
- James Gunn - Co-Chairman, DC Studios
- JB Perrette - Co-Chair and Chief Business Officer, Skydance TV and Skydance DTC
- Peter Safran - Co-Chairman, DC Studios
News Leadership
- Mark Thompson - Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, CNN Worldwide
- Bari Weiss - Editor-in-Chief, CBS News
The Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery transaction is expected to close October 6. At that point, Skydance Corporation will become the legal name of the combined company, and its Class B shares are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD.
A complete list of Skydance's executive leadership team is expected shortly after the transaction closes.
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