Paramount Skydance has named its 10-member board of directors, which includes tech scion David Ellison, Oracle Chief Executive Safra A. Catz and former Paramount Pictures chairwoman Sherry Lansing.
Ellison will serve as chairman of the board.
The board is scheduled to reconstitute Thursday with the close of Skydance Media’s $8.4-billion acquisition of Paramount Global.
Only one current Paramount board member — Barbara Byrne — will remain. Paramount’s current chairwoman, Shari Redstone, and others are set to exit, handing over the legendary entertainment company that includes CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Showtime and Melrose Avenue’s century-old movie studio, Paramount Pictures, to the new group of owners.
The board tilts heavily toward firms that have a financial stake: The Larry Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners, backers of Skydance Media that have helped finance the Paramount transaction.
The incoming panel also represents a power-sharing arrangement. The Ellisons have five designates on the board, including David Ellison and Catz, a longtime Oracle executive who has served as its CEO since 2019. (She also is a previous Walt Disney Co. director.)
The private equity firm has two representatives: RedBird founder and managing partner Gerry Cardinale and John L. Thornton, the firm’s chairman.
In addition, two executives with RedBird ties — Jeff Shell and Andy Gordon — will take board seats. Both are joining Paramount from RedBird as senior executives. Shell, a former NBCUniversal chief executive, is becoming Paramount’s president while Gordon, a longtime Goldman Sachs banker, has been named Paramount’s chief operating and chief strategy officer. (Shell will serve on the board as a management-designee).
Paul Marinelli, president of Larry Ellison-backed Lawrence Investments, will join the board.
There will be three independent board members, including Byrne, Justin G. Hamill, a managing director of Silver Lake, and Lansing, who was a groundbreaking executive in Hollywood and popular steward of Paramount more than two decades ago.
“We are thrilled and honored to welcome this truly outstanding group of director-designees to our board,” David Ellison said in a statement.
The Federal Communications Commission, led by President Trump-appointed Chairman Brendan Carr, approved the Skydance-Paramount merger two weeks ago after months of turmoil. The FCC’s 2-1 vote came after Paramount agreed last month to pay Trump $16 million to settle the president’s lawsuit over edits to a “60 Minutes” broadcast.
The FCC approval removed the last hurdle, allowing the Skydance purchase to move forward.
Redstone, the daughter of entertainment titan Sumner Redstone, and Paramount’s board agreed to the Skydance takeover in July 2024. As part of the transaction, the Redstone family investment firm National Amusements will receive $2.4 billion for its controlling shares in the company. The family will come away with $1.75 billion after National Amusements’ considerable debts are paid.
The Redstone shares will pass to Larry Ellison and RedBird, which will hold a minority stake in National Amusements.
The deal is expected to inject $1.5 billion into Paramount’s balance sheet to help the firm pay down debt. More than $4 billion was set aside to buy back shares of current Paramount shareholders.
Santa Monica-based Skydance will eventually be folded into Paramount.
