David Ellison wasted no time. Minutes after a federal judge signed off on the antitrust settlement that cleared the last obstacle, the 43-year-old Paramount Skydance chief announced his choice for co-chief executive of the soon-to-be-formed media giant. Ynon Kreiz, the man who turned Mattel into a Hollywood player behind the Barbie phenomenon, will step in alongside him.
The timing said everything. Paramount expects the $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery to close as soon as Oct. 6. Kreiz starts Oct. 5. No long transition. No gradual handoff. The new structure takes effect immediately.
Ellison stays chairman and CEO. He keeps control over strategy, creative decisions, talent relationships, technology bets and how capital gets spent. Kreiz, 60, takes day-to-day operations and the heavy work of stitching two sprawling companies together. Executives will report to both. The board will include them as its only confirmed members so far.
“In Ynon, I’m adding a partner with strong leadership and the operating firepower this integration demands,” Ellison said in the announcement. He added that their backgrounds create a strong fit. “When you look at Ynon’s background and mine, and what we have accomplished, I think we’re really well positioned to win together.”
Kreiz spoke with equal enthusiasm. “I’m excited to partner with David to build the next-generation media and entertainment company — bringing together premium content and iconic brands at the highest quality and scale, serving global audiences across every entertainment vertical and distribution platform,” he said. He praised Ellison as “a rare blend of business acumen, creative instinct, and clear vision.”
The move surprised some insiders. Kreiz had just announced his departure from Mattel that same morning after eight years at the top. Shares in the toymaker dropped 4 percent on the news. Yet conversations between Kreiz and Ellison had been underway. The co-CEO title crystallized late but aligned with the sheer size of the combined operation.
The Scale of Ambition
This isn’t a simple merger. The resulting company controls two historic movie studios, HBO, Paramount+, CNN, CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, vast libraries, theme-park adjacent brands and streaming platforms that reach hundreds of millions. Debt will top $50 billion. Synergies are projected above $6 billion. Film output faces court-mandated minimums — at least 30 theatrical releases a year initially, with extra spending commitments of $1.5 billion over five years.
Those requirements came from the settlement with 12 state attorneys general. A federal judge in Oakland approved it Wednesday, ending their attempt to block the deal on competition grounds. The decree also demands separate cable channel negotiations, preservation of Pluto TV as a free service, and an editorial independence board for CNN and CBS News.
Ellison has moved fast since Skydance took Paramount private last year. He pursued Warner Bros. Discovery aggressively. Regulatory clearances came from 65 jurisdictions. The final U.S. state challenge fell away after weeks of talks. Now the focus shifts from dealmaking to execution. That’s where Kreiz enters.
His Mattel record shows operational discipline mixed with entertainment ambition. He joined in 2018. Under him the company expanded brands like Hot Wheels and Barbie into film and television. The 2023 Barbie movie, made with Warner Bros., grossed more than $1 billion and became a cultural event. Kreiz had earlier media experience at Fox Kids and Maker Studios, the digital network Disney acquired.
Analysts called the hire smart. Seaport Research Partners senior analyst David Joyce told Bloomberg that Kreiz represents a good choice. He brings public-company leadership at scale and a proven ability to manage creative-IP businesses.
Yet challenges loom large. Linear television continues its decline. Streaming profits remain elusive for many. The combined entity must cut costs without damaging creative output. Debt markets showed hesitation; Paramount priced massive bond offerings Wednesday to help fund the transaction amid higher yields.
But Ellison sounds undeterred. In a memo to staff obtained by Business Insider, he wrote that he had always planned to partner with someone of Kreiz’s caliber. “Our skills and experience complement each other, and we share a vision for what this company can become.” He called Kreiz “a proven builder and operator” who “cares deeply about our creative mission.”
The leadership split echoes structures at Netflix, Comcast and Spotify. Co-CEOs can work when roles stay clearly divided. Here the lines appear sharp. Ellison owns the vision and the big bets. Kreiz runs the machine.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s current chief, David Zaslav, met with Ellison as the judge’s order came through. Integration planning has been underway for months. Casey Bloys of HBO is expected to oversee streaming for the combined group. Other Warner executives may stay. Some Paramount leaders, including Paramount+ chief Cindy Holland, are leaving.
Kreiz will also sit on the board. That gives him formal oversight beyond operations. The pair will jointly appoint members to the news editorial board meant to shield CNN and CBS from owner influence.
Hollywood watches closely. Ellison’s rise has been swift. Son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, he built Skydance from a production shop into a dealmaking force. Critics once called him “the kid” who paid for pictures. Few say that now.
The new company needs a name. Speculation points to something that signals fresh direction while honoring legacies. Decisions on branding, headquarters consolidation and further executive appointments will come quickly once the deal closes.
Revenue growth targets sit between 16 and 19 percent for 2026, according to company projections, even before full synergies. The question is whether the creative engine can match the financial engineering. Ellison bets that his focus on content and technology, paired with Kreiz’s operational rigor, delivers both.
They don’t have years to prove it. Markets, creators, advertisers and regulators will judge the experiment fast. The settlement terms last five years. Miss the film quotas and penalties kick in — $30 million per short film, with potential divestitures if problems persist.
Kreiz knows entertainment cycles. He navigated Mattel’s shift from pure toys to multiplatform brand owner. Ellison knows how to bet big on stories — from Top Gun: Maverick at Skydance to the franchises now under his control.
Together they inherit Batman and SpongeBob, Harry Potter and Taylor Sheridan series, CNN’s newsroom and Paramount Pictures’ lot. The combination creates one of the largest content portfolios ever assembled under single leadership.
Success won’t come from size alone. It will depend on whether this unusual pairing translates complementary strengths into sustained performance. Ellison chose Kreiz for exactly that reason. The industry now waits to see the results.
The deal closes next week. The real work starts the week after.
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