David Ellison Restructures Paramount Leadership After Skydance Merger

• David Ellison appoints Cindy Holland, Andy Gordon, Stephanie McKinnon, Melissa Zukerman, and Jim Sterner.
• David Ellison appointed CEO of newly formed Paramount Skydance Corp following $8B merger.

David Ellison's Skydance Media has unveiled its Paramount leadership structure, signaling a shake-up as the Shari Redstone era comes to an end.

Ellison will become chairman and CEO of the newly formed Paramount Skydance Corp., with the goal of reviving the legendary entertainment company. The structure will be largely decentralized, with Ellison giving his division heads significant power.

Skydance's $8.4 billion takeover is set to close on Thursday.

Jeff Shell, a RedBird Capital Partners executive and former NBCUniversal CEO, will serve as the company's president, overseeing day-to-day operations in the television businesses.

Only one current Paramount executive will remain: Co-Chief Executive George Cheeks. Cheeks takes over as chairman of TV Media, which includes CBS properties as well as cable TV channels such as MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and BET.

Dana Goldberg, who has worked with Ellison for nearly 15 years, will become Paramount Pictures' co-chair, joining Josh Greenstein, who was Sony Pictures' motion picture president until last week. In addition to the Melrose Avenue film studio, Goldberg will be in charge of Paramount Television Studios and Nickelodeon Films. In recent years, Goldberg has been Skydance's chief creative officer.

Greenstein returns to Paramount, where he previously worked as marketing president before leaving for Sony in 2014. Cindy Holland, a former top Netflix programmer, will oversee the streaming services Paramount+ and Pluto, making her a key figure in the new company.

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Skydance, led by David Ellison, has taken over Paramount, bringing the Redstone family's 38-year reign to an end. Despite controversy, the FCC approved the deal, which will inject $1.5 billion into Paramount and result in significant leadership changes. Several top executives, including co-CEOs Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins, are leaving. Former Netflix executive Cindy Holland and RedBird's Andy Gordon have joined the new team as COO and CSO, respectively. Stephanie McKinnon, General Counsel at Skydance, takes over Paramount's legal affairs, while Melissa Zukerman handles communications. The takeover comes after Paramount settled a $16 million lawsuit with Donald Trump. As part of the FCC deal, Paramount will discontinue all diversity programs and appoint a CBS News ombudsman. Skydance also plans to cut costs by $2 billion, including layoffs.