The management teams of the new Skydance divisions continue to be dispersed, three weeks after the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger closed. Discovery.
Skydance communications director Melissa Zukerman announced the senior members of her team in a memo to staff on Friday — and announced the departure of several executives.
In his note, Zukerman said Skydance had the opportunity to “rethink how we communicate – going beyond traditional channels and finding new ways to reach people directly.” To that end, the company is launching a “direct to market” function focused on “expanding executive storytelling across our owned and operated platforms and identifying new channels and formats.”
According to Zukerman, this will “give us more ways to tell our own story, in our own voice, directly to the people we want to reach.”
Zukerman’s four main lieutenants are: Laura Watson, executive vice president, head of corporate, executive and strategic communications (who joined Paramount in mid-2025 from WBD); Shannon Buck, executive vice president, corporate communications and media relations (formerly head of communications for Paramount+); Virginia Fout, executive vice president, global and executive events (formerly owner/president of V Productions); and Deborah Marcus, EVP, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (who joined Paramount in August 2025).
Zukerman also thanked members of the communications teams at Paramount and Warner Bros. who will be leaving the company: Arielle Falkowitz (WBD, senior vice president of corporate relations and global events), Megan Klein (WBD, senior vice president of communications), Joe Libonati (WBD, senior vice president of communications), Adrienne O’Hara (WBD, executive vice president, director of communications and public affairs), Karen Shosfy (Paramount, vice president of communications), Heather Wagoner (WBD, senior vice president of communications internal, creative and public affairs). brand) and Dennis Williams (WBD, Senior Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Affairs).
Moving forward, Zukerman said she plans to hire “dedicated leaders” for financial communications and product and technology communications, “building our capabilities in areas that will only become more important to our business — from AI tools for filmmakers and creatives to advertising sales and beyond.”
Read Zukerman’s memo:
Team,
Communications are a vital part of the day-to-day running of this business. Our role is to protect and promote our business and our people, advancing our priorities, strengthening our reputation and ensuring those who matter to our success understand who we are, what we stand for and where we are going. To achieve this, we must be deeply connected to the business, close to our leaders and teams, and always ready to engage.
And we have an extraordinary opportunity before us. Few companies have as much diversity in business, brands, content and creative talent as we do – or the ability to reach so many people in so many ways. We have the opportunity to harness the full power of this ecosystem, bringing more creativity and impact to our communications and using our platforms to build stronger, more direct and more meaningful connections.
David and Ynon set three priorities: making Skydance the premier Hollywood content engine and home to the world’s greatest storytellers; accelerate our integrated direct-to-consumer platform with quality content, cutting-edge technology and a superior fan experience; and optimize our highly profitable linear television portfolio, anchored by CBS. Underpinning these three goals is the ambition to build the most technologically successful media company – delivering more and better experiences for consumers, empowering our teams and operating with greater efficiency, while keeping human creativity at the heart of great storytelling.
Our work in communications is to help advance this strategy – by telling the stories of our storytellers, creatives, technologists and business leaders: their triumphs, their progress and, of course, their challenges. We build understanding of where we are going and confidence in our ability to get there, ensuring our words are always backed by our actions. We show, not tell – letting our work and results speak for themselves, communicating transparently, and basing everything we say on facts. This is how we gain credibility and trust.
And we need an organization ready to fulfill this mandate. At its center is a corporate communications function, responsible for corporate and executive communications, working hand-in-hand with the teams embedded across our businesses. This is a model that has been tried and tested at Paramount – allowing us to stay close to the business, coordinated across the business and operating in a surprise-free environment.
But structure is only part of the equation. We also have the opportunity to rethink how we communicate – go beyond traditional channels and find new ways to reach people directly. ThatThat’s why we’re launching a Direct to Market function focused on expanding executive storytelling across our owned and operated platforms and identifying new channels and formats. This will give us more ways to tell our own story, in our own voice, directly to the people we want to reach.
Of course, none of this diminishes the importance of traditional communications and advertising – or the press. Most of you know how strongly I believe in building and respecting relationships with journalists. These relationships are important, and they are based on the same principles that I expect us to apply in all of our work: be direct, know what’s going on, and tell it like it is. Be accessible and responsive. And most importantly, earn trust by being credible, frank and fact-based.
In a world saturated with information, we know that communications go far beyond what we say. It’s also about what we do and how we present ourselves. That’s why I’m incredibly proud that our team also understands corporate social responsibility, a group dedicated to extending our mission beyond our walls and using our platform to support people, causes and communities where we can make a meaningful difference. By connecting our philanthropic partnerships with our content and broader storytelling, we have the opportunity to not only give back, but also strengthen the communities in which we live and work.
Events are also a core part of our team and another powerful way we bring our story to life. Creating meaningful, memorable moments that celebrate our projects, champion our people, and bring our communities together is an important part of how we connect and highlight the incredible work being done across Skydance.
To achieve all this requires a team of thinkers and doers – people who can see what is possible and make it happen. Building this team for the future also requires difficult choices about how we organize, what we focus on, and how we work. I recognize that some of these choices involve saying goodbye to valued colleagues and changing ways of working that have long been familiar to us. But our success depends on our willingness to evolve and build differently for the future. I am incredibly proud of the team we are putting in place, starting with my immediate leadership team, who will help drive this work forward: Laura Watson, Shannon Buck, Virginia Fout, and Deborah Marcus.
Laura Watson, Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate, Executive and Strategic Communications. Many of you know Laura as my deputy and a key partner in all areas of our business. She oversees our strategic and internal communications, corporate messaging, executive communications and speechwriting.
Shannon Buck, executive vice president, corporate communications and media relations. Shannon joins us from her latest role as Head of Communications for Paramount+. She will work closely with our businesses to identify, shape and elevate our most important stories. – including through DTC, advertising, marketing and distribution – and help bring together the right platforms, talents and voices to make them known.
Virginia Fout, executive vice president, global and executive events. Virginia leads our global events, hospitality and executive accommodations, bringing our business and story to life through the experiences we create. She will play a vital role in ensuring our voice, priorities and brand are reflected consistently in our most important events and engagements.
Deborah Marcus, Executive Vice President and Head of CSR. Deb has transformed CSR from a traditional giving function into a powerful platform for storytelling, engagement and social impact. More recently, she launched the ‘Ebenezer No child is hungry” and is currently building our company-wide Season of Giving, creating meaningful ways for our people and brands to make a difference in the communities we serve.
We are building this organization to operate as one team, with close partnerships across all areas of the business. With that in mind, Chris Ender, Brooke Robertson and Jeff Cusson, communications leads for Skydance TV, Studios and DTC respectively, have joined my leadership team, helping to ensure we remain connected, coordinated and aligned in service of business priorities. We also partner with other companies, including Games & Experiences, Consumer Products, Government Relations, News and Sports, to ensure the same level of connection and support across the company.
I feel incredibly lucky to have this top-notch team in place – and we’re not done yet. As we prepare for the future, we will add dedicated leaders in the areas of financial communications and product and technology communications, strengthening our capabilities in areas that will become increasingly important to our business – from AI tools for filmmakers and creatives to advertising sales and beyond.
I would also like to particularly thank the communications colleagues who will be leaving the organization: Arielle Falkowitz, Megan Klein, Joe…
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