David Ellison has unveiled the new Paramount leadership team in the wake of US government approval of the Skydance Media-Paramount Global merger that is expected to close this week.
Chairman and CEO David Ellison and president Jeff Shell will preside over three segments, with former Netflix vice president of original content, CEO of Sister, and recent Skydance advisor Cindy Holland leading the streaming business; Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg overseeing studios; and George Cheeks in charge of TV media.
Greenstein is the former president of Sony Pictures Entertainment film group who becomes co-chair of Paramount Pictures and vice chair of platforms alongside Goldberg, the former Chief Creative Officer of Skydance who is named co-chair of Paramount Pictures and chair of Paramount Television.
New chair of TV media Cheeks most recently operated as Paramount Global co-CEO and oversaw the CBS network that was at the heart of a controversial $16m settlement by Paramount Global of a $20bn lawsuit filed by US president Donald Trump that Hollywood insiders saw as a sweetener to push through the merger.
The network also announced it will discontinue late night talk show The Late Show in May 2026 fronted by comedian Stephen Colbert, who had called the settlement “a big fat bribe”.
Rounding out the C-suite are Andy Gordon as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Operating Officer, who was a former partner at RedBird Capital Partners, Skydance Media’s partner in the $8bn merger; Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon as General Counsel and Acting Chief Legal Officer; Jim Sterner as Chief People Officer; and Melissa Zukerman in the role of Chief Communications Officer.
Andrew Warren will continue as Interim CFO. Tom Ryan, Paramount’s head of streaming, is departing after a transition period in which he will work with Holland. Ryan oversaw the launch of the ad-supported Pluto TV in 2014. Former Paramount Global co-CEO Chris McCarthy previously announced he was leaving, and former co-CEO Brian Robbins, who led Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, is expected to follow suit.
In a statement Ellison said: “Each member was chosen to align with our goals and with the intention to drive transformation. Together, we will foster an environment where creative and technical talent collaborate seamlessly, marrying leading technologies with powerful storytelling and artistic vision to unlock Paramount’s full potential and help shape the future of our industry.”
Besides Paramount Pictures, Paramount Television, and CBS, Paramount’s stable of brands includes Paramount+, Pluto TV, Nickelodeon, and MTV.
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