Team,
As you learned from David and Ynon earlier this month, my role in the company is one that deliberately bridges DTC and TV. Industry and consumer behavior continue to evolve at a rapid pace, and these two sectors have more intersections and interconnections than ever before. We must move each business forward aggressively, while being attentive to maximizing the strategic and financial opportunities between the two, and at the same time be transparent and data-driven when there are inevitable tradeoffs that need to be decided…do them quickly and remain clear that our North Star is what is in the best interest of the Skydance business as a whole (and 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 (or more) hats. Our structure will build on strong local/regional expertise and relationships, as well as global scale and capabilities…and success will require everyone to make this local and global setup a powerful network rather than a feared matrix. The focus needs to be on working together and putting points on the board to ensure we win, rather than on who put them on the board. We have a unique portfolio of DTC and TV assets that I believe can work better and more powerfully together, engaging and delighting billions of consumers around the world while also driving growth in the company’s cash flow, earnings and revenue.
The most painful part of these transitions is that we have to say goodbye to many talented leaders who have brought significant value to previous companies and, more importantly, who 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 everything they have done to get the company to where it is today. Their work has been instrumental in the success of the DTC and/or TV businesses, and I am extremely grateful for their efforts throughout their impressive tenures. Join me in wishing them all the best in their next endeavors.
Below is our new leadership team effective today. We were as thoughtful as possible, even if on a very tight deadline. Despite all our efforts, there will undoubtedly be further clarifications and improvements that will need to be made, particularly within sub-teams that will need to be more specifically realigned to this new structure. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding, and especially for your help in this next phase to ensure we arrive at the right answer. So, Jay Askanasi (Advertising), Ray Hopkins (Distribution) and David Decker (Content Sales) previously announced to help lead this charge will be (in alphabetical order):
GLOBAL
- Jeff Cusson, Executive Vice President 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 with me, Casey and Mel Zukerman, Skydance’s Director of Communications. The international communications teams will remain loyal to its organization, but will continue to have a dotted-line relationship with the country CEO/CEO and be part of their leadership team.
- Shauna Spenley, Marketing Director, Global DTC and International TV: Shauna will expand her role to include overseeing international television marketing, in partnership with me and George Cheeks, with all international streaming and television marketing teams within her organization. This will help make operations more efficient…but local marketing teams, especially in large free trade markets, will continue to have a dotted line relationship with the country MD/CEO and be part of their leadership team. She will also have a dotted line to Rebecca Mall, CMO, Skydance. Juan Sola’s team, Domenic DiMeglio’s team, and marketing-focused resources from other groups will join Shauna’s team.
- Trey Turner, COO, International: In addition to his finance responsibilities, Trey will take on the new role of COO of International, reporting to me to help drive and continue to transform the large international portfolio. Joining 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 as COO, DTC, reporting to me and supporting Casey, and CFO, DTC, reporting to Dennis Cinelli, CFO, Skydance. As COO, he is responsible for business strategy and planning, content strategy, planning, analytics and acquisitions, pricing, podcasting and project/program management. Rodrigo Mazon and most of Michael Bishara’s team will join Josh’s team.
- Liz Wright, CFO, Skydance TV Segment: Liz will be the CFO of the Skydance TV segment, leading the finances of CBS and our global television networks businesses. In her new role, Liz will partner with George and I for Skydance TV and report to Dennis Cinelli.
- Responsible for Pluto/AVOD: This is an important undertaking for us and deserves dedicated leadership to help us see it through day in and day out. We will be looking for a strong Pluto/AVOD leader with internal and external candidates, and I will share more as we move forward in this process. This new role will be filled by Olivier Jollet, Will Gurman and Kevin Kroll, and, in the interim, this team will report to Josh and myself.
REGIONAL/LOCAL
Internationally, we will have four regional leaders who will help drive the combined television and streaming businesses and report to me. These regional leaders and their teams will directly oversee distribution, advertising sales, network and streaming business development and television programming in their markets. and will work in partnership with the global functional teams above as well as Jay Askinasi in Advertising, Ray Hopkins in Distribution and David Berson in Sports (rest assured, the common goal is to be pragmatic about what makes sense or where there is added value… we will work together to clarify further in the coming weeks). These leaders are (in alphabetical order, and to be clear, only reporting changes are listed under regional leaders and not their full teams):
- Andrew Georgiou, interim president and managing director Europe and Africa, will lead Europe and Africa: Andrew will be taking on a new role outside of the company next year, but he has offered to help me manage this transition before he leaves and while we search for his replacement. Joining Andrew’s team will be:
- Alessandro Araimo, MD Southern Europe: responsible for Italy, Spain, France, and will now add Turkey and Africa
- Qaisar Rafique, Senior Vice President of Business Development: will be responsible for all distribution and business development in Europe, as well as overseeing Central and Eastern Europe (excluding Poland)
- Reemah Sakaan, President 5 and MD UK&I: will assume leadership of the company’s entertainment business in the UK and Ireland, including his current role at the helm of Channel 5
- Christina Sulebakk, MD Nordics, Benelux, GSA: will continue to lead the Nordic countries, Germany, Austria, Switzerland (GSA) and Benelux
- James Gibbons, President and Managing Director APAC and MENA will lead the Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa (APAC and MENA) region: Edited by James, Beverley McGarvey, Jason Monteiro and Shonali Bedi.
- Kasia Kieli, President and CEO, 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 CEO LATAM/US Hispanic, will lead Latin America and the Hispanic States: Adam Waltuch will report to Fernando.
Some other personal items to share: Lea Hooperregional streaming manager for Europe, tells me that she is finishing her maternity leave and I can’t wait to see her again in January; Ronald will moves to Skydance TV Studios under Channing; And Efrain Miron is moving away from the DTC organization to explore other opportunities within the company. The foundations laid by Efrain’s leadership will continue to benefit the company’s future.
I know you will probably have questions, and I fully appreciate the ongoing and unfortunate anxiety and distraction this process causes. We will continue to achieve this as quickly and respectfully as possible. In the meantime, please join me in congratulating this new leadership team…I’m incredibly excited to get started. The leaders announced above will now start working as soon as possible in their respective structures. Information will continue to be shared in a timely manner and your patience, as always, is greatly appreciated…and if you have specific or more urgent questions, please contact your manager or HR representative.
Thanks, JB
Gn entert
