David Ellison Names Ynon Kreiz Co-CEO of Paramount-WBD Merged Company

David Ellison, set to serve as Chairman and CEO of the anticipated combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery entity, has announced that Ynon Kreiz will join him as Co-CEO upon the deal's closing, signaling a dual-leadership structure designed to steer one of the most consequential media consolidations in recent memory.

Ellison described his decision as a deliberate search for an executive partner capable of providing the operational depth needed to navigate a rapidly shifting entertainment landscape. The appointment suggests the incoming leadership recognizes that building a next-generation global media company requires complementary skill sets at the very top of the organizational chart.

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The announcement arrives as the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger approaches its anticipated conclusion, a transaction that would combine two of Hollywood's most storied studios along with their respective streaming, cable, and content libraries. The scale of the combined entity would place it among the largest media conglomerates in the world.

Ellison framed the Co-CEO structure as a mechanism to generate value across multiple constituencies — creators and talent within the entertainment ecosystem, shareholders seeking returns on their investment, and audiences globally who consume content across an expanding array of platforms. The pairing of Ellison and Kreiz is being positioned as foundational to that ambition.

The leadership arrangement will formally take effect at the closing of the merger, leaving the exact timeline contingent on regulatory and shareholder approvals still working through the process. Continue reading at Banking & Financial Services.