Ellison names Skydance leadership on eve of Paramount-Warner Bros. close
David Ellison has named the executives who will run Skydance Corp. once the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger closes.
The announcement came on 5 October, on the eve of closing, with the new company to be led by Ellison as chairman and chief executive alongside Ynon Kreiz as co-chief executive, according to Variety. Kreiz, the former Mattel chief, joins starting Monday, 5 October. The divisions of the merged group, spanning two major film studios, television networks and streaming, will report to both men.
The deal behind the reshuffle is large. Ellison and his Paramount team agreed a $111 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery in February 2026. It has since received regulatory clearance in 68 countries, with final clearance coming when a judge approved Paramount’s settlement with 12 states to resolve their antitrust case aimed at blocking the merger. The new Skydance will carry an estimated $80 billion-plus in net debt, and its common stock is due to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD from Tuesday, 6 October.
The debt load is large. The content slate is larger.
Film will be headed by Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein as co-chairs of Skydance Motion Picture Group. The pair previously served as co-chairs of Paramount Pictures. Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group heads Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca are not joining the new company.
Television and streaming, meaning the channels and the direct-to-consumer services sold straight to viewers, get a shared leadership structure. George Cheeks, previously chair of TV media at Paramount Skydance, becomes co-chair and chief content officer of Skydance TV, in charge of programming strategy. J.B. Perrette, previously Warner Bros. Discovery’s chief executive and president of global streaming and games, becomes co-chair and chief business officer of both Skydance TV and Skydance DTC.
Casey Bloys, who previously headed HBO and HBO Max, will become co-chair and chief content officer of Skydance DTC streaming. Mark Thompson will continue to run CNN as chairman and editor-in-chief of CNN Worldwide.
Two creative appointments were also confirmed. James Gunn and Peter Safran were named co-chairmen of DC Studios, home to the Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman franchises. Bari Weiss was named editor-in-chief of CBS News.
A separate corporate team will sit around Ellison and Kreiz. Andy Gordon was named president, Dennis Cinelli was named chief financial officer, and Makan Delrahim was named chief legal officer and president of global corporate affairs. Dane Glasgow was named chief product officer, Rebecca Mall was named chief marketing officer, and Melissa Zukerman was named chief communications officer, according to Variety.
For people watching at home, this means the decision-makers are now in place. These are the executives who approve series orders, decide renewals and cancellations, and set release plans across cinemas, channels and streaming apps. Paramount had earlier announced on 30 September that Kreiz would join the board of the combined company as co-chief executive, effective at closing.
