David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz will lead Skydance, the newly combined Paramount-Warner Bros. company, as the merger closes. Ellison serves as chairman and CEO; Kreiz, the outgoing Mattel chief executive, started as co-CEO on Oct. 5, according to Variety.
The Details Behind The New Skydance Leadership
Ellison will serve as chairman and CEO, overseeing all strategy, creative and technology functions across the combined company, Variety reported. Kreiz, as co-CEO, will handle day-to-day operations and manage the integration of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery’s businesses. He also joins Paramount’s board of directors.
Kreiz spent years as Mattel’s chief executive, where he also oversaw the toy company’s film studio arm. That division produced Barbie, which Variety noted was the top-grossing film worldwide in 2023 and remains Warner Bros. Pictures’ highest-grossing movie ever.
As part of a five-year deal, Kreiz will receive a $31.5 million signing bonus, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Bringing together Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery to create a next-generation global media company is a transformational moment for our industry,” Ellison said in a statement carried by Variety.
What It Means For Fans And The Industry
The combined company will operate under the Skydance name, with Paramount and Warner Bros. continuing on as sub-brands rather than disappearing, IGN reported. That naming decision, paired with the new executive lineup, signals how Ellison plans to blend his own studio’s identity with two legacy media giants rather than fold them into something unrecognizable.
For viewers, the structure clarifies who is actually steering decisions on streaming, film slates and franchise strategy going forward. Ellison controls the creative and strategic direction, while Kreiz’s operational role suggests the day-to-day running of a sprawling combined business, including merging overlapping divisions, now has a dedicated point person.
Context: A Deal Years In The Making
The merger stems from a deal valued at $111 billion, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Ellison founded Skydance as a film studio in 2006, and the company now lends its name to the entire merged operation. Ynon Kreiz rose to prominence overseeing creative and operational divisions at major entertainment firms, most recently Mattel.
The combined company’s stock ticker will switch to SKYD and move from the Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange as part of the transaction, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The leadership announcement follows the merger’s court approval in late September, which allowed the deal to advance toward closing.
What’s Next
The merger is expected to close on Oct. 6, 2026, according to IGN, the day after Kreiz’s start date. Beyond Ellison and Kreiz, the full executive bench for Skydance is still taking shape, with other leadership roles, including studio and streaming divisions, continuing to be announced in the lead-up to and following the closing date.
Reporting from Variety, IGN, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter contributed to this story.
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