Skydance leadership team: JB Perrette runs ad sales, Zaslav not on the list

David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz named the Skydance leadership team for the company formed from Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, on Monday, 5 October. The deal was set to close a day later. Most top Warner Bros. Discovery bosses are not on the list, while CNN chief Mark Thompson keeps his job.

Ellison will be chairman and CEO and lead strategy and creative work. Kreiz, the former Mattel chief, becomes co-CEO and runs daily operations and the merger. Andy Gordon of RedBird becomes president. The company said in its release that 15 executives will report to the two leaders.

JB Perrette will run Skydance ad sales

For marketers, the key name is JB Perrette. He becomes co-chair and chief business officer of the streaming and TV divisions. The release puts global distribution, advertising sales and content sales under him. Perrette ran streaming and games at Warner Bros. Discovery.

Rebecca Mall becomes chief marketing officer, and Melissa Zukerman leads communications. Casey Bloys, the HBO content chief, becomes co-chair and chief content officer for streaming, covering original shows on HBO Max and Paramount+. Paramount’s George Cheeks co-leads television.

David Zaslav is missing from the Skydance list

Axios noted that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and finance chief Gunnar Wiedenfels were not named. Film chiefs Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca are leaving, as is Channing Dungey of Warner Bros. Television. Dennis Cinelli becomes CFO and Makan Delrahim chief legal officer.

Some Warner names stay. James Gunn and Peter Safran keep running DC Studios. Thompson remains chairman and editor-in-chief of CNN Worldwide, and Bari Weiss stays editor-in-chief of CBS News. “Their talent, experience and ambition are exactly what this moment demands,” Ellison said in the release.

Paramount and Warner channels in Europe change owner

The new company also takes over Warner Bros. Discovery’s channels in Europe, including TVN in Poland. Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery chose the Skydance name last week, months after a court approved their settlement with US states. Poland’s state assets ministry told Wirtualnemedia.pl it expects a filing on control of TVN and will then review the deal.

Media buyers will deal with Perrette’s team from the first day after the close. HBO Max, Paramount+, CBS and CNN now sit in one ad sales unit. The next upfront talks will show how Skydance packages and prices them.