- Paramount Skydance is getting a new leader ahead of its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
- Ynon Kreiz is joining David Ellison as co-CEO after leading toy giant Mattel since 2018.
- Ellison will run the combined company's creative and tech strategies.
David Ellison will share the reins of the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery with Mattel's exiting CEO, Ynon Kreiz.
Kreiz will join the new-look Paramount as co-CEO on Monday, October 5, Paramount announced on Wednesday. Ellison had been Paramount's sole CEO since its merger with Skydance last August.
Both Ellison and Kreiz will oversee employees at Paramount and WBD, which are expected to join forces in the coming days as part of a $110 billion mega-deal. Ellison will head up the creative and technology strategies while Kreiz will manage day-to-day operations and the merger integration, Paramount said.
During Kreiz's tenure at Mattel, which started in 2018, he looked to turn the toy giant behind Barbie and Uno into an entertainment powerhouse. He had initial success when "Barbie" became a billion-dollar blockbuster. However, Mattel's "Masters of the Universe" movie in June, based on the He-Man action figures, was a flop. Mattel has a slew of other entertainment projects in the works.
Mattel announced earlier on Wednesday that it would replace Kreiz with Roger Lynch, who had been the CEO of publisher Condé Nast.
Paramount's merger with WBD, the parent company of HBO and CNN, is nearing the finish line after a monthslong saga complete with hostile bids, a competing offer from Netflix, and lawsuits from 12 US states and Hollywood writers.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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