Skydance has named Sarah Bergman and Mickey Carter to lead its distribution business, even as eight executives from the newly merged company's ranks are set to depart. The leadership shuffle, outlined in an internal memo, marks one of the first major organizational moves inside Skydance's distribution unit since the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger closed last month.
According to a memo reviewed by Reuters, the departures include four executives from Warner Bros. Discovery — Rivka Golomb, Kelly Kane, Jeff Cross and Rich Palermo — along with four from the Paramount side: David Comisar, Kurt Davis, Deena Demasi and Ken Kay. The memo, sent by Ray Hopkins, Skydance's president of distribution, also named seven Paramount and Warner Bros. executives to key leadership roles under Bergman and Carter, as detailed by 1049thewolf.com. Hopkins' memo said the new leadership team would work out the structure of their respective organizations in the coming weeks.
Who's In, Who's Out
Bergman and Carter arrive from opposite sides of the newly combined company. Per LinkedIn pages cited in the same report, Bergman previously served as Warner Bros. Discovery's executive vice president of networks and streaming distribution, while Carter held the title of Paramount executive vice president of U.S. distribution. Skydance's distribution business handles deals with cable and satellite operators, TV stations and streaming platforms to carry its content.
Jeff Cross, who currently serves as EVP of legal, distribution and commercial partnerships, is leaving the organization but will remain on as a senior adviser to the distribution business, according to the report. His duties will be taken over by Rick Baker, a Paramount EVP and deputy general counsel for the distribution business and legal affairs. Skydance did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the changes.
The Merger That Set It All in Motion
The reshuffling follows the completion of Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which closed on October 6 and formed the newly branded Skydance, led by David Ellison. Bloomberg reported the tie-up was valued at $110 billion, a deal size it described as historic for Hollywood. Skydance is now managing roughly $80 billion in combined debt while targeting at least $6 billion in planned savings, figures the company has described as goals rather than completed outcomes.
Last month, Skydance offered some employees a one-time voluntary buyout as part of its integration push, the report notes. Based on 2025 annual filings from both Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, the combined company is expected to employ about 53,000 people, though that number reflects prior filings rather than a confirmed current headcount.
A Broader Pattern of Turnover
The distribution shake-up is not an isolated event inside the new Skydance. Business Insider reported that Skydance has rolled out leadership changes across its streaming, technology, product, television, sports and advertising teams in the weeks since the merger closed, with product and tech units leaning heavily on Paramount veterans while the streaming side draws more from Warner Bros. Discovery's bench. Among the senior departures Business Insider identified elsewhere in the company are former Paramount streaming chief Cindy Holland and Warner Bros. film co-chairs Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca.
Separate reorganizations have hit other corners of the business. Variety reported that seven executives — Arielle Falkowitz, Megan Klein, Joe Libonati, Adrienne O'Hara, Karen Shosfy, Heather Wagoner and Dennis Williams — are departing as part of a communications leadership overhaul, in which Melissa Zukerman named Laura Watson, Shannon Buck, Virginia Fout and Deborah Marcus as her top lieutenants, according to Variety. The Hollywood Reporter similarly detailed a TV and streaming division shake-up in which seven more executives — Dan Barnes, Michael Bishara, Jamie Cooke, Domenic DiMeglio, Marco Nobili, Pank Patel and Juan Sola — were thanked on their way out, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
New Finance and Sales Structure Taking Shape
Skydance has also assembled a new finance leadership team, naming Patrick Cavanaugh as EVP and CFO of Distribution and Kevin Creighton as EVP of Corporate Finance and Treasury, Variety reported separately on the finance appointments. On the sales and advertising side, The Desk reported that Jay Askinasi will lead advertising revenue, David Decker will oversee content sales and Ray Hopkins will run distribution, with all three executives reporting to JB Perrette.
Taken together, the moves reflect what the report describes as a Hollywood landscape being reshaped by the rise of streaming and industry consolidation. For Skydance, the distribution overhaul is one piece of a much larger integration effort still unfolding across nearly every division of the newly combined media giant.
