After the August 7th deal closure David Ellison will become the head of the combined Paramount-Skydance company. The merged company will operate through three distinct business segments which include studios and direct-to-consumer and TV media.
The new company will operate under Jeff Shell who served as NBCUniversal CEO for daily operations while Andy Gordon from Goldman Sachs will serve as chief operating officer. The media division will be led by Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks while Netflix alum Cindy Holland will oversee streaming services including Paramount+ and PlutoTV.
Dana Goldberg as Skydance chief creative officer will join Josh Greenstein former Sony Pictures president to co-chair Paramount Pictures. Tom Ryan who developed PlutoTV will leave the company.
Ellison has outlined his plan to establish Paramount as a technology-driven media organization which will concentrate on building Paramount+ as a major streaming platform.
The company faces declining cable TV revenue while writing down $6 billion worth of legacy assets. The FCC approved the merger last month after Paramount resolved its lawsuit with President Donald Trump regarding the “60 Minutes” segment.