David Ellison, on the eve of officially closing the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. Discovery to form Skydance Corp., announced its picks for the top executives who will lead its new company.
The new management team will be led by Ellison, chairman and CEO, and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, the former Mattel chief who is joining Skydance starting Monday. The divisions of the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger – spanning two major movie studios, television networks and streaming – will report to both Ellison and Kreiz.
As expected, the film industry will be led by Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, previously co-chairmen of Paramount Pictures. Warner Bros. executives Motion Picture Group, Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca, are not joining the new company. James Gunn and Peter Safran will remain co-heads of DC Studios.
George Cheeks, former president of television media at Paramount Skydance, is co-president and chief content officer of Skydance TV. Mark Thompson will continue to lead CNN as CEO.
Casey Bloys, who led HBO and HBO Max, will become co-president and chief content officer of Skydance DTC streaming. JB Perrette (formerly CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery and President of Global Streaming and Gaming) is Co-President and Chief Business Officer of Skydance TV and Skydance DTC.
Here is the list of Skydance executive appointments announced Monday:
Business leadership
- David Ellison, President and CEO
- Ynon Kreiz, co-general director
Business management team
- Andy Gordon, President
- Dennis Cinelli, CFO
- Makan Delrahim, General Counsel and President, Global Corporate Affairs
- Dane Glasgow, Director of Product
- Rebecca Mall, Marketing Director
- Melissa Zukerman, Director of Communications
Sales management team
- Casey Bloys, Co-President and Chief Content Officer, Skydance DTC
- George Cheeks, Co-President and Chief Content Officer, Skydance TV
- Dana Goldberg, Co-President, Skydance Motion Picture Group
- Josh Greenstein, Co-President, Skydance Motion Picture Group
- James Gunn, co-president of DC Studios
- Peter Safran, co-president of DC Studios
- JB Perrette, Co-President and Chief Commercial Officer, Skydance TV and Co-President and Chief Commercial Officer, Skydance DTC
Executive management team
- Mark Thompson, president and editor-in-chief of CNN Worldwide
- Bari Weiss, CBS News Editor-in-Chief
Ellison and his Paramount team closed the $111 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in February 2026. After the deal received regulatory approvals in 68 countries, it got the final green light last week when a judge approved Paramount’s lenient deal with 12 states resolving their antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the merger.
Ellison said in a statement: “I am incredibly proud to introduce the team that will drive Skydance forward, a group that reflects the ambition behind this historic combination. Together, Paramount and Warner Bros. will form a creative home with the scale, imagination and technology to define entertainment for a generation.”
Kreiz commented: “Our goals as a team are to establish Skydance as Hollywood’s premier content engine and home to the world’s greatest storytellers, accelerate our integrated DTC platform with the best content, cutting-edge technology and superior consumer experience, and optimize our highly profitable linear television portfolio, reaching global audiences across all entertainment sectors.
The new Skydance, a nod to Ellison’s original independent film production company, will be saddled with net debt estimated at more than $80 billion. The Company’s common stock is expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SKYD” with trading commencing on Tuesday, October 6.
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