Skydance Reveals Key TV and Streaming Leadership Roles

Skydance’s direct to consumer and television leadership is shaping up as the merger of Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount continues to winnow the companies’ executive ranks.

Skydance DTC and TV co-chair and chief business officer J.B. Perrette announced the division’s leadership in a memo to staffers on Thursday, leading with Jeff Cusson taking the reins as evp and head of communications for Skydance DTC. Shauna Spenley will take over as chief marketing officer of global DTC and international TV, Trey Turner will serve as the international chief operating officer, Josh Walker will serve as chief operating officer of DTC and Liz Wright will be chief financial officer of the Skydance TV segment.

As part of the changes, HBO Max head of global advertising revenue Dan Barnes, Warner Bros Discovery executive vice president and general manager of global streaming and digital studios Michael Bishara and executive vice president of central Europe, Middle East, Turkey and Africa Jamie Cooke are leaving the company. Also leaving are chief marketing officer and chief data officer for Paramount Streaming Domenic DiMeglio, Paramount+ executive vice presidnet and international general manager Marco Nobili, and Paramount’s head of international media networks Pank Patel and Warner Bros. head of streaming for Latin America Juan Sola.

“The painful part in these transitions is that we have to say goodbye to many talented leaders who have delivered significant value to the prior companies, and more importantly have been great friends, colleagues, and mentors to so many,” Perrette wrote. “Their work has been instrumental to the success of the DTC and/or TV businesses, and I am incredibly grateful for their efforts throughout their impressive tenures.”

Read the full memo below.

Team,

As you learned from David and Ynon earlier this month, my role in the company is one that purposefully bridges DTC and TV. The industry and consumer behavior continue to evolve at a fast pace, and these two businesses have more cross-over and interconnections than ever. We need to aggressively drive each business forward, while also being attentive to maximize the strategic and financial opportunities between the two, and at the same time be transparent and data-led when there are inevitable trade-offs that need to be decided…make them with speed, and stay clear that our north star is what’s in the best interest of the overall Skydance company (not individual units, countries or other agendas).

To do this, we will have some leaders more dedicated to TV and others to DTC, and many leaders wearing both hats (or more). Our structure will leverage strong local/regional expertise and relationships, and global scale and capabilities…and success will require everyone to make this local and global set-up a powerful network vs. a dreaded matrix. The focus needs to be on collaboration and putting points on the board to ensure we win, rather than who put them on the board. We have a one-of-a-kind portfolio of DTC and TV assets that I’m convinced can work better and more powerfully together, engaging and delighting billions of consumers around the world while also being the cash, profit and revenue growth engine for the company.

The painful part in these transitions is that we have to say goodbye to many talented leaders who have delivered significant value to the prior companies, and more importantly have been great friends, colleagues, and mentors to so many. I want to thank Dan Barnes, Michael Bishara, Jamie Cooke, Domenic DiMeglio, Marco Nobili, Pank Patel and Juan Sola (gracias!) for all they’ve done getting the company to where it is today. Their work has been instrumental to the success of the DTC and/or TV businesses, and I am incredibly grateful for their efforts throughout their impressive tenures. Please join me in wishing them all the best on their next endeavors.

Below is our new leadership team as of today. We have been as thoughtful as possible albeit in a very compressed timeframe. Despite our best efforts, there will undoubtedly be further clarifications and refinements that need to be made particularly within sub-teams that will need to be more specifically re-aligned to this new structure. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding, and most importantly your help working it through with us in this next phase to make sure we get to the right answer. So, joining the previously announced Jay Askanasi (Advertising), Ray Hopkins (Distribution), and David Decker (Content Sales) to help lead this charge will be (in alphabetical order):

GLOBAL

• Jeff Cusson, EVP and Head of Communications, Skydance DTC: As previously announced by Casey, Jeff will lead the communications strategy for the streaming services with a shared reporting line to me, Casey and Mel Zukerman, Chief Communications Officer, Skydance. The international communications teams will hard line into his organization but continue to have a dotted line relationship into the country GM/MD and be part of their leadership team.
• Shauna Spenley, CMO, Global DTC and International TV: Shauna will expand her role to include oversight for marketing of International TV, partnering with me and George Cheeks, with all streaming and TV marketing teams internationally hard lining into her organization. This will help make the operations more effective and efficient…but local marketing teams, particularly in larger FTA markets will continue to have a dotted line relationship into the country GM/MD and be part of their leadership team. She will also have a dotted line to Rebecca Mall, CMO, Skydance. Juan Sola’s team, Domenic’s DiMeglio’s team and marketing focused resources in other groups will move into Shauna’s team.
• Trey Turner, COO, International: In addition to his responsibilities in Finance, Trey will take on the new role of COO of International reporting to me to help steer and continue to transform the large international portfolio. Moving to Trey’s team will be Pank Patel’s strategy team, Louis Goldstein, Vanessa Brookman, Lee Hobbs and Myriam Lopez-Otazu.
• Josh Walker, COO, DTC: Josh will have a dual role of COO, DTC, reporting to me and supporting Casey, and of CFO, DTC, reporting into Dennis Cinelli, CFO, Skydance. As COO, he is responsible for business strategy and planning, content strategy, planning, analysis and acquisitions, pricing, podcasting and project/program management. Moving to Josh’s team will be Rodrigo Mazon and most of Michael Bishara’s team.
• Liz Wright, CFO, Skydance TV Segment: Liz will be the chief financial officer for the Skydance TV segment, leading finance for CBS and our global television networks business. In her new role, Liz will partner with George and me for Skydance TV and report into Dennis Cinelli.
• Head of Pluto/AVOD: This is a big and important business for us and deserves dedicated leadership to help drive it day in and day out. We will conduct a search for a strong leader of Pluto/AVOD with internal and external candidates, and I will share more as we get through that process. Reporting into this new role will be Olivier Jollet, Will Gurman, and Kevin Kroll, and on an interim basis this team will report to Josh and me.

REGIONAL/LOCAL

Internationally, we will have four regional leaders who will help drive the combined TV and Streaming businesses and will report to me. These regional leaders and their teams will have direct oversight for distribution, ad sales, business and commercial development across both networks and streaming as well as TV programming in their markets, and will work in partnership with global functional teams above as well as with Jay Askinasi in Advertising, Ray Hopkins in Distribution, and David Berson in Sports (rest assured the common objective is to be pragmatic about what makes sense or where there is value-add…we will work together to clarify further in the coming weeks). These leaders are (in alphabetical order, and to be clear only changes in reporting are listed below the regional leaders not their full teams):

• Andrew Georgiou, interim President & MD Europe & Africa will lead Europe & Africa: Andrew will be taking on a new role outside the company next year, but he has offered to help me manage this transition before his departure and as we search for his replacement. Moving to Andrew’s team will be:
  • Alessandro Araimo, MD Southern Europe: responsible for Italy, Spain, France, and will now add Turkey and Africa
  • Qaisar Rafique, EVP Commercial Development: will be responsible for all distribution and business development in Europe, and oversight for Central and Eastern Europe (excluding Poland)
  • Reemah Sakaan, President 5 and MD UK & I: will take on leadership for the company’s UK and Ireland entertainment business, including her existing role leading Channel 5
  • Christina Sulebakk, MD Nordics, Benelux, GSA: will continue to lead the Nordics, Germany, Austria, Switzerland (GSA), and Benelux
• James Gibbons, President & MD APAC & MENA will lead Asia Pacific & Middle East and North Africa (APAC & MENA): Moving under James will be Beverley McGarvey, Jason Monteiro, and Shonali Bedi.
• Kasia Kieli, President & MD, will lead Poland: Given the unique scale, profile, and breadth (i.e.: entertainment, news, sports, digital, studios) of our leading TV and digital business in this market, Kasia will continue to operate Poland as a more integrated media team.
• Fernando Medin, President and MD LATAM/US Hispanic, will lead Latin America and US Hispanic: Moving under Fernando will be Adam Waltuch.

A few other personnel items to share: Leah Hooper, Regional Streaming Lead for Europe, reporting to me is finishing her maternity leave and I’m looking forward to having her back in January; Ronald Goes is moving over to the Skydance TV Studios side of the business under Channing; and Efrain Miron is stepping away from the DTC organization to explore other opportunities within the company. The foundation that’s been set by Efrain’s leadership will continue to benefit the business moving forward.

I know you will likely have questions, and I fully appreciate the continued and unfortunate anxiety and distraction that this process causes. We will continue to work through it as quickly and respectfully as possible. In the meantime, please join me in congratulating this new leadership team…I’m incredibly excited to get going. The leaders announced above will now start working through their respective structures asap. Information will continue to be shared on a timely basis, and your patience, as always, is greatly appreciated…and if you have any specific or more urgent questions, please reach out to your manager or HR representative.

Thx, JB