Skydance Sets Finance Team for Merger Carrying $80 Billion Net Debt

Skydance Corp. has named the finance executives who will oversee operations for the combined company formed by David Ellison's merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. Chief Financial Officer Dennis Cinelli announced the lineup in a memo sent to staff on Wednesday morning.

The combined business is projected to generate close to $70 billion in annual revenue on a pro-forma basis and carry roughly $80 billion in net debt. The finance organization will hold responsibility for the plan to reach $6 billion in annualized cost savings, an effort expected to involve several rounds of layoffs.

The merger closed after David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, co-CEO of Skydance, had announced the senior leadership team one day earlier. Business units and corporate groups have since released their own executive rosters.

Kevin Creighton will run an expanded corporate finance and treasury organization covering corporate finance, treasury, strategic finance, financial planning and analysis, and content finance and strategy. He will also manage investor relations on an interim basis while a replacement for that role is recruited. Fraser Woodford, EVP of Treasury at Warner Bros. Discovery, will remain through the end of March 2027 to handle transition work and help identify his successor.

Todd Davis will lead global tax, Kathy Gill-Charest will serve as controller and chief accounting officer, and Sandy Pundmann will serve as chief audit risk officer. Simon Robinson, as chief business transformation officer, will head an Integration Management Office that coordinates the combining of the businesses.

Business unit CFOs will report to Cinelli and their respective unit heads. The group includes Mark Badagliacca for film, Patrick Cavanaugh for distribution, Nitin Chawla for global content sales, Adam Cohn for CNN, Eric Gray for TV studios, Christine Hong for advertising and revenue operations, Kedar Nadkarni for consumer products, publishing and DC comics, Ben Paul for games and experiences, Josh Walker for streaming, and Liz Wright for the television segment. Bryon Rubin is leaving his post as CFO of TV Media to become COO of Skydance Television.

Cinelli wrote to staff that the new structure "reflects the strengths of both organizations and puts the right leaders in the right places." He added, "There will be challenges as we integrate businesses and keep raising the bar, but I have great confidence in this team." He also thanked employees who "put in extraordinary effort to support the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery" and praised the legacy Warner Bros. Discovery finance team for keeping the business performing through a long period of uncertainty.

Cinelli set out six priorities for the finance organization, including fast and accurate closes with full compliance, plans that drive accountability, close partnership with business leaders, decisions made with data and AI, financial reporting to stakeholders and investors, and building a talent pipeline for future company leaders.