Exclusive Report - Skydance undergoes executive restructuring, eight executives depart

Added the name of Warner Bros. Discovery executive Jeff Cross in paragraph 3

Jaspreet Singh

Reuters, November 3 - According to a memo reviewed by Reuters and released on Tuesday, media giant Skydance SKYD.N (formed last month by the merger of Paramount-Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery (link)), has appointed Sarah Bergman and Mitch Carter to lead its distribution business, while eight senior executives will leave the company after the acquisition is completed.

The memo, sent by Skydance President of Distribution Ray Hopkins, states that the new leadership team will begin organizing their respective teams over the coming weeks.

The departing executives include four from Warner Bros. Discovery: Rivka Golumb, Kelly Kane, Jeff Cross, and Richie Palermo. The other four—David Komisar, Curt Davis, Deena Demasi, and Ken Kay—come from the Paramount side of the company.

The memo also appointed seven Paramount and Warner Bros. executives to key leadership roles. The focus of the distribution division is to negotiate deals with cable and satellite operators, TV stations, and streaming platforms to promote its content.

After Paramount-Skydance completed the $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros., the merged entity was named Skydance. The company has not yet responded to Reuters’ request for comment.

Against the backdrop of the rise of streaming and industry consolidation reshaping Hollywood, Skydance, led by David Ellison, is seeking to achieve at least $6 billion in planned cost savings while managing approximately $80 billion in combined debt.

According to their LinkedIn pages, Bergman is currently executive vice president of network and streaming distribution at Warner Bros. Discovery, while Carter is executive vice president of U.S. distribution at Paramount.

Current executive vice president of legal, distribution, and business partnerships, Cross, will also leave the company but will continue to serve as a senior advisor to the distribution business. His responsibilities will be assumed by Rick Baker, executive vice president of Paramount and deputy general counsel for distribution and legal affairs.

In after-hours trading on Tuesday, Skydance’s share price fell slightly. Year to date, the company’s share price has dropped by about 27%.

Last month, Skydance offered a one-time voluntary buyout program to some employees. According to the 2025 annual reports of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, the company is expected to have about 53,000 employees.

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