David Ellison names leaders for Paramount-WBD empire “Skydance”

The name comes from his original film production company, Skydance Media, and will reportedly be “a creative-first home for bold, quality storytelling”. When making the announcement, the company stated: “Paramount and Warner Bros. shaped over a century of culture. By combining them, we aren't rewriting history – we're equipping these iconic studios with a more powerful engine”.

The Paramount-WBD deal is set to close on 6 October 2026, according to Variety. This merger will bring together Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Paramount Television, Warner Bros. Television, CBS, CBS News, CBS Sports, CNN, HBO, HBO Max, TNT, TBS, Discovery, HGTV, Food Network, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, MTV, BET, Comedy Central, Showtime, Paramount+, Pluto TV, and Skydance Animation, Film, Television, Interactive/Games, and Paramount Sports Entertainment.

To lead Ellison's new organisation, the following executives will be appointed to the CEO Leadership Team (CLT).

Andy Gordon will become President of the CEO Corporate Leadership Team. As an early advisor to Skydance Media, Gordon helped orchestrate Skydance's acquisition of Paramount in 2025 and Paramount's anticipated acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery in 2026. He currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Paramount, and previously was a Partner at RedBird Capital Partners, where he led the firm's Los Angeles office and its Technology, Media, and Telecom investment team.

Gordon will be supported by Chief Financial Officer Dennis Cinelli, Chief Legal Officer and President of Global Corporate Affairs Makan Delrahim, Chief Product Officer Dane Glasgow, Chief Marketing Officer Rebecca Mall, and Chief Communications Officer Melissa Zukerman.

The CEO Business Leadership Team will be led by Casey Bloys, Co-Chair, Chief Content Officer, Skydance DTC. In this role, Bloys will oversee HBO Max and Paramount+ original programming as well as strategy, operations, communications, and performance across the company's streaming platforms. He currently serves as Chairman, CEO, HBO, Max Content. Since assuming oversight of HBO programming as President in 2016, his team has produced The Pitt, The White Lotus, The Last of Us, House of the Dragon, Succession, Chernobyl, Barry, Girls, Veep, Insecure, and Big Little Lies.

Bloys' team will comprise: George Cheeks, Co-Chair and Chief Content Officer, Skydance TV; Dana Goldberg, Co-Chair, Skydance Motion Picture Group; Josh Greenstein, Co-Chair, Skydance Motion Picture Group; James Gunn, Co-Chairman, DC Studios; JB Perrette, Skydance TV's Co-Chair, Chief Business Officer, and Skydance DTC's Co-Chair, Chief Business Officer; and Peter Safran, Co-Chairman of DC Studios. 

Finally, the CEO News Executive Leadership Team will consist of Mark Thompson, Chairman, Editor-in-Chief, CNN Worldwide, and Bari Weiss, Editor-in-Chief, CBS News. 

Cheeks will co-lead Skydance's newly formed Television division, an expansive mix of Paramount and Warner Bros. studios, networks, sports and cable brands. His remit will include three television studios – Warner Bros. Television Studios, CBS Studios, and Paramount Television Studios – as well as Skydance's global sports group, the CBS Television Network, 27 local television stations and a portfolio of more than 50 cable networks in the US and around the world. 

Alongside him, Weiss will serve as Editor-in-Chief of CBS News and continue as Editor-in-Chief of The Free Press, which was acquired by Skydance in 2025. Before founding The Free Press in 2020 with her wife and sister, Weiss worked on the opinion pages of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. In 2021, the Los Angeles Press Club awarded her with the Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism. She is the author of the book How to Fight Anti-Semitism, and the host of the podcast Honestly. 

Ellison stated: "I'm incredibly proud to introduce the team that will lead Skydance forward, a group that reflects the ambition behind this historic combination. Together, Paramount and Warner Bros. will form a creative-first home with the scale, imagination and technology to define entertainment for a generation. The leaders joining me have built some of the most beloved franchises and businesses in the industry, and they share a deep respect for the creative process and a belief that great stories have the power to entertain, unite and inspire audiences around the world. Their talent, experience and ambition are exactly what this moment demands, and together we will build a next-generation global media company that leads the industry in creative excellence and innovation, and delivers for audiences, creators, partners and shareholders alike."

Reflecting on the name "Skydance" from his personal X account, Ellison added: “We chose this name for a few important reasons. First and foremost, as we bring Paramount and Warner Bros. together, we wanted to preserve what has made each of these studios iconic. Both have distinct identities, extraordinary legacies, and brands that have resonated with audiences for generations. We never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter, or overshadow either one. Instead, we wanted a name that would give the combined company an identity of its own while allowing Paramount and Warner Bros. – and all our extraordinary brands – to remain in the spotlight.

“We have big goals for Skydance, and we intend to pursue them with passion, imagination and a willingness to take smart risks. At the same time, we will honor what makes Paramount and Warner Bros. special – giving both studios the opportunity to grow, tell more great stories and bring those stories to even broader audiences around the world, powered by the scale and capabilities of Skydance.”

For context, Ellison’s Skydance Media first took over Paramount Global for $8.4bn in August 2025, which became known as “Paramount, A Skydance Corporation”. The merger involved first taking over its controlling shareholder, National Amusements, which was backed by private equity firm RedBird Capital. The combined entity became the parent company of CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, the UK’s Channel 5, streamer Paramount+, as well as the movie studio itself.

At the time, Ellison wrote an open letter, which said: “Moving forward, we will work with conviction and optimism to transform Paramount into a tech-forward company that blends the creative heart of Hollywood with the innovative spirit of Silicon Valley. By harnessing cutting-edge technologies to serve great storytelling, we will unlock the company’s enormous potential.”

Ynon Kreiz, CEO, Mattel, was also recently named Co-CEO of the new Skydance, shortly after a California judge formally approved Paramount Skydance’s settlement with California and other states. Discover more here.